244 
Mr. J. E. Harting on rare 
black, being* in summer ferruginous or sandy red (which colour 
extends to the whole of the neck and the upper part of the 
breast), in autumn grey, more especially in birds of the year, 
and in winter pure white. In the winter plumage therefore it 
resembles R. andina in the colour of the head, but differs from 
it in the colour of the wings, which resemble those of R. avo- 
cetta , save that the white secondaries are so nearly obscured 
by the dark wing-coverts that the closed wing presents the 
appearance of being crossed by only one white bar (and 
that a narrow one) instead of two. The bill is much less 
recurved and less attenuated at the extremity than in any of 
the other species. The tarsus is longer than in R . avocetta and 
R. andina; but the latter has a longer wing. 
R. novce-hollandice, inhabiting Australia and New Zealand, 
may at once be distinguished by the rich chestnut colouring 
of the whole of the head and upper portion of the neck, which 
is retained, apparently, throughout the year, though of a paler 
hue in winter. The coloration of the wings is much the same 
as in the last-named species, save that there is much less black 
upon the scapulars, and these black feathers do not meet to 
form one broad mesial patch in the centre of the back as in R. 
avocetta and R. americana. 
The legs and feet in all the species are of a delicate bluish 
grey, the soles of the feet tinged with buff. By some authors 
they have been described as black; but this was in conse¬ 
quence of the descriptions having been taken from dried 
skins. The bill is of the colour and appearance of whale¬ 
bone ; the irides bright red or reddish hazel. 
In structure Recurvirostra closely resembles Numenius and 
Totanus. The tongue is very short in proportion to the 
length of the bill, slightly emarginate at the base, with a few 
conical papillae, slender, tapering to a point, and flattened 
above. On the palate are two longitudinal series of blunt 
papillae. The posterior aperture of the nares is linear, nearly 
an inch in length, papillate on the edges. The oesophagus is 
between seven and eight inches in length, and inclines to the 
right side. In diameter it is about half an inch at the upper 
part, dilating to about three quarters of an inch at its entrance 
