88 
XOTANINjE. himantopus. 
M a ]p Ql 911 1 4 3 
The Avoset, now of rare occurrence in any part of Britain, 
is said to breed in the fens of Lincolnshire, and in Romney 
Marsh, in Kent. It Ts not migratory, but, assembling in 
small flocks, in winter, frequents the shores and estuaries of 
the south-eastern coasts of England, and feeds on worms, in- 
sects, and mollusca, which it obtains by an alternating, la- 
teral motion of the bill among the soft mud. The use of its 
webs seems to be chiefly to support it on the yielding surface. 
It wades out in the water, runs with rapidity, vibrates its 
body when standing, has a powerful flight, and a loud shrill 
cry, and is said to resemble the Totani and other birds of this 
family, in its attempts to decoy intruders from its nest or 
young. 
Scooper. Crooked-bill. Cobleris awl. Yelper. 
Recurvirostra Avocetta, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 156. — Recur- 
virostra Avocetta, Lath. Ind. Ornith. ii. 786. — Recurvirostra 
Avocetta, Temm, Man. d’Ornith. ii. 590. — Recurvirostra 
Avocetta, Black-and-white Avoset, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, 
it. 
GENUS CII. HIMANTOPUS. STILT-SHANK. 
The importance of the hind toe in the Grallatorial series 
has been much overrated, otherwise the Himantopi, which 
in all essential respects are most intimately connected with 
the Totani and Recurvirostra, would never have been placed 
in connection with the Plovers, with which they have but a 
very distant affinity. These birds are of a singularly slen- 
der form, with legs so extremely elongated, as at once to 
suggest the idea of a bird walking on stilts. The body, 
however, is rather compact and ovate ; but the neck is very 
long and slender ; the head small, compressed, and much 
rounded above. Bill about twice the length of the head, 
almost straight, being very slightly recurved, very slender, 
roundish, tapering ; upper mandible with the ridge convex, 
the nasal groove extending half its length, the edges sharp 
and inflected, the tip very narrow, rather acute, and slightly 
decurvate ; lower mandible with the angle long and ex- 
tremely narrow, the sides grooved nearly as far as the angle, 
the edges sharp and inflected, the tip extremely narrow, and 
just at the end turned a little upwards. Mouth very nar- 
