The Black-necked Stilt 
Taken in Merced County 
Photo by the Author 
an insect from the sur¬ 
face of the water. The 
foot is withdrawn back¬ 
ward, with a deftness 
which scarcely disturbs 
the water’s face, and 
does not at all roil the 
oozy bottom. The Stilt 
will wade about belly- 
deep, if need be, and 
stoop to secure dainties 
off the bottom at that. 
It is quite at home, also, 
on dry land, and will 
snap with unfailing dex¬ 
terity at the insects 
which rise bewildered 
from the ground. 
Stilts are a com¬ 
monplace of migrations 
in California, arriving 
from the south about 
the middle of April. 
They visit all the way- 
side ponds and plashes 
left by the rainy season, 
or created by the over¬ 
flow ot irrigation. They 
are usually silent and 
not too wary at this 
season, and their frank 
enjoyment of our way- 
side fare is one of the 
gladsome sights of the season. Once, on the beach near Gaviota, I 
saw a company of Stilts breasting the ocean waves; but it must have 
been a rare experience for them, as it was a rare sight for us. They are 
poor swimmers, and their frail pipe-stems were hardly made to withstand 
the suck of the “lnirryback.” 
It is to the breeding home, therefore, that we must go to see the 
Black-necked Stilt at its best. Los Banos will be the first place thought 
of, although the Stilt is much better distributed throughout the State 
than the Avocet, and clings to many haunts which its larger fellow has 
BLACK-NECKED STILT APPROACHING NEST 
I208 
