224 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Himantopus. 
XX VIII.— A Review of the Species of the Genus Himantopus. 
By Henry Seebohm. 
The genus Himantopus contains ten species, and embraces 
the Stilts, the Avocets, and the Peruvian Stilt and the Banded 
Avocet, which form the connecting links between them. 
This genus of birds is remarkably homogeneous and well 
differentiated from all allied genera, and contains species so 
closely related to each other, that there can be no possible 
reason for subdividing it in the way which has been adopted 
by most ornithologists. 
The synonymy of the genus Himantopus is as follows :— 
Type. 
Himantopus , Brisson, Orn. v. p. 34 
(1760). H. melanopterus. 
Avocetta , Brisson, Orn. vi. p. 538 (1760) H. avocetta. 
Recurvirostraj Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. i. 
p. 256 (1766). H. avocetta . 
Macrotarsus , Lacepede, Mem. de PInst. 
iii. p. 518 (1801).. . H. melanopterus. 
HypsibateSy Nitzsch, Ersch u. Grub. 
Encycl. xvi. p. 150 (1827) . . . ; . H. melanopterus. 
LeptorhynchuSy Dubus, Mag. Zool. v. 
pi. 45 (1835).. . H. pectoralis. 
CladorhynchuSy Gray, List Gen. B. p. 69 
(1840). H. pectoralis. 
It is difficult to say to which genera Himantopus is nearest 
related. The softness of the plumage resembles that of Pha- 
laropus, but this is probably an evidence of analogy rather than 
of affinity. The delicate reticulation of the tarsus is similar 
to that of the bar-tailed species of Charadrius } to which, in 
spite of the dissimilarity of the bill, the genus may possibly 
be more nearly allied. The ten species included in Himan¬ 
topus may be diagnosed from all the other species of the 
family Charadriidse by the combination of three characters. 
Each of these is found in many other species of the family, 
but no species belonging to it combines all three, except the 
