AMERICAN AVOSET. 
29 
the comparison, however, reaches no farther ; for our lawyer 
is simple, timid, and perfectly inoifensive. 
In describing the long-legged avoset of this volume, the simi- 
larity between that and the present was taken notice of. This 
resemblance extends to every thing but their colour. I found 
both these birds associated together on the salt marshes of New 
Jersey, on the 20th of May. They were then breeding. 
Individuals of the present species were few in respect to the 
other. They flew around the shallow pools exactly in the 
manner of the long-legs, uttering the like sharp note of click, 
click, click, alighting on the marsh or in the water indiscrimi- 
nately, fluttering their loose wings, and shaking their half-bent 
legs, as if ready to tumble over, keeping up a continual yelp- 
ing note. They were, however, rather more shy, and kept at 
a greater distance. One which I wounded attempted repeat- 
edly to dive 5 * but the water was too shallow to permit him to 
do this with facility. The nest was built among the thick 
tufts of grass, at a small distance from one of these pools. It 
was composed of small twigs of a sea-side shrub, dry grass, sea 
weed, &c., raised to the height of several inches. The eggs 
were four, of a dull olive colour, marked with large irregular 
blotches of black, and with others of a fainter tint. 
This species arrives on the coast of Cape May late in April ; 
rears its young, and departs again to the south early in Octo- 
ber. While here, it almost constantly frequents the shallow 
pools in the salt marshes ,* wading about, often to the belly, in 
search of food ; viz, marine worms, snails, and various insects 
that abound among the soft muddy bottoms of the pools. 
The male of this species is eighteen inches and a half long, 
and two feet and a half in extent ; the bill is black, four inches 
in length, flat above, the general curvature upwards, except at 
the extremity, where it bends slightly down, ending in an ex- 
tremely fine point ; irides, reddish hazel ; whole head, neck, 
and breast, a light sorrel colour ; round the eye, and on the 
chin, nearly white ; upper part of the back and wings, black ; 
scapulars, and almost the whole back, white, though generally 
