OF BIRDS > 
245 
mandibles are so large at the end, that the prey cannot 
slip aside. 
Dotterel. (PI. 42.) The length of this bird is 
about nine inches,* Its bill is black; the cheeks and throat 
are white; the back and wings are of a light brown, in- 
clining to olive, the breast is of a dull orange; the belly, 
thighs, and vent, are of a reddish white; the tail is an 
olive brown, and tipped with white: the legs are of a dark 
olive colour. 
The dotterel is common in various parts of Great Bri- 
tain, though in some places it is scarcely known. They 
are supposed to breed in the mountains of Cumberland 
and Westmoreland, where they are sometimes seen in 
the month of May, during the breeding season; they 
likewise breed on several of the Highland hills: they afe 
very common in Cambridge, Linconshire, and Derby- 
shire, appearing in small flocks on the heath and moors 
ol those countries during the months of May and June, 
and are then very fat, and much esteemed for the table. 
Avosetta. ( Recurvirostea . Lath.) The avosetta 
is about the size of a pigeon, and has extreme long legs; 
but the most extraordinary part of its figure is the bill, 
which turns up like a hook, in an opposite direction to 
that of the hawk or the parrot; this is of a black colour ? 
flat, sharp, and flexible at the end. 
These birds commonly breed in the fens of Lincoln- 
shire, and on Romney marsh, in Kent, (England.) In 
winter they assemble in flocks of six or seven about the 
mouths of large muddy rivers, in search of worms and 
insects, which they scoop out of the mud, with their re- 
curved bills. Their feet seem calculated for swimming, 
but, as they are never observed to take the water, it is 
probable that they are furnished with a web merely to 
prevent their sinking in the mud. The female lavs two 
eggs, of a white colour tinged with green, and marked 
with black spots. 
Godwit. (PL 43.) The godwit is about six- 
teen inches in length: the bill is near as long as that of 
the woodcock, of a palish red towards the base, and 
