222 
LONG-LEGGED AVOSET. 
a broad membrane; wings long, extending two inches beyond 
the tail, and sharp pointed; irides a bright rich scarlet; pupil 
black. In some, the white from the breast extends quite round 
the neck, separating the black of the hind neck from that of 
the body; claws blackish horn. 
TJie female is about half an inch shorter, and differs in hav- 
ing the plumage of the upper back and scapulars, and also the 
tertials, of a deep brown colour. The stomach, or gizzard, was 
extremely muscular, and contained fragments of small snail 
shells, winged bugs, and a slimy matter, supposed to be the re- 
mains of some aquatic worms. In one of these females I counted 
upwards of one hundred and fifty eggs, some of them as large 
as buck-shot. The singular form of the legs and feet, with the 
exception of the hind toe and one membrane of the foot, is ex- 
actly like those of the Avoset. The upward curvature of the 
bill, though not quite so great, is also the same as in the other, 
being rounded above, and tapering to a delicate point in the 
same manner. In short, a slight comparison of the two is suffi- 
cient to satisfy the most scrupulous observer, that nature has 
classed these two birds together; and so believing, we shall not 
separate them. 
