Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Himantopus. 235 
Himantopus melanopterus. 
Himantopus himantopus, Briss. Orn. v. p. 34 (1760). 
Charadrius himantopus , Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 255 (1766). 
Himantopus Candidas, Bonn. Tabl. Encycl. i. p. 24 (1790). 
Himantopus vulgaris, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. ii. p. 325 
(1803). 
Cursorius himantopus (Briss.), Burton, Brit. Faun. p. 62 
(1807). 
Himantopus rufipes, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iii. p. 446 
(1809). 
Himantopus atropterus, Meyer, Taschenb. ii. p. 315 (1810). 
Himantopus melanopterus, Meyer, Ann. Wetter. Gesellsch. 
iii. p. 177 (1814); et auctorum plurimorum. 
Himantopus albicollis, Vieill. N. Diet. <FHist. Nat. x. p. 41 
(1817). 
Hypsibates himantopus (Briss.), Nitzsch, Ersch u. Grub. 
Encycl. xvi. p. 150 (1827). 
Himantopus plinii, Flem. Brit. An. p. 112 (1828). 
Himantopus asiaticus , Less. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 44. 
Himantopus intermedius, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. 
p. 265 (1849). 
Himantopus autumnalis (Hasselquist), apud Gray, Holds- 
worth, Legge, Heuglin, Walden, Gurney, &c. 
Plates : Dresser, Birds of Europe, vii. pis. 535, 536. 
Habits : Seebohm, British Birds, iii. p. 79. 
Eggs : Seebohm, British Birds, pi. 24. figs. 4, 6. 
The Common Stilt, when in fully adult male plumage, may 
be recognized by its pure white head and neck. Less mature 
birds have black on the back of the neck, extending over the 
crown, but not reaching the mantle. Young in first plumage 
scarcely differ from those of the North-American Stilt. 
The Common Stilt is most abuudant during the breeding- 
season in India and Ceylon, where its numbers are increased 
during winter. Further east it is found during the cold 
season in Burma; and stragglers have occurred in Cochin 
China, Timor, the Philippine Islands, and North China. 
West of India it is a regular summer visitor to Afghanistan, 
Turkestan, North Persia, Palestine, Asia Minor, to the salt- 
s 2 
