as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. It is an inhabitant of the salt lakes of Tartary and the shores of
the Caspian S e a ; and Mr. Swinhoe observed it both in Formosa and China, in which latter country he saw
it on the banks of the Peiho in November, and frequently met with it in the market a t Tientsin; it also
occurs in Lower Bengal and other parts of India.
The genus to which this bird belongs is very limited in the number o f its members, only four species being
known; these are the European Recurvirostra Avocetta, the R . americana of North America, the R . nibricollis
of Australia, and the R . occidentalis, if the bird so called be not identical with R . americana.
Latham states that the Avocet is said to feed on “ worms and insects collected from the mud, chiefly
Cancer pulex and Locusta (the sea-flea and locust),” and that it is “ often seen to wade far into the w a te r; it
will also occasionally swim, but always close to the shore, is very bold in defence of its young, and, when
disturbed in the breeding-season, hovers over the sportman’s head like a Lapwing, and flies with its legs
extended. Its note is sharp, and resembles the word twit twice or oftener repeated; hence it has received
the trivial name of Yelper. Its actions and the form of its bill have also obtained for it in some counties the
names of Butter-flip, Scooper, Picarini, Crooked-bill, and Cobbler’s Awl.”
“ A t the beginning of this century,” says the Rev. Mr. Lubbock in his Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk,
“ the Avocet used to breed constantly and in considerable numbers a t Horsey, but has not done so of late
years. On the authority of an old and respectable fen-man, it bred regularly forty years ago n ear the Seven-mile
House, on the North R iv er; occurs still sometimes upon Breydon. The last I know of, positively, in the fens
was a small flock which visited Sutton Broad in 1828. Avocets used formerly to breed a t Salthouse, near
Holt, but are extinct there. The provincial name is ‘ Shoeing-Hom.’ ”
Mr. Yarrell states that “ some years ago I was told that more than twenty specimens were received at
Leadenhall Market for sale within one month, but now scarcely an example appears once a year; the last
I heard of was in the spring of 1837.”
After mentioning th at Avocets are occasionally, but rarely, met with in the north o f England or in Scotland,
Mr. Selby says, “ They assemble in small flocks, and frequent oozy and muddy shores, particularly those of
the mouths o f rivers, where they obtain a plentiful supply o f food, consisting^ o f small worms, marine insects,
and young univalve and bivalve Mollusca. Their mode of feeding is by scooping, o r in appearance beating
the soft mud with their flat and upturned b ill; and when thus engaged, they frequently wade up to their breasts
in the pools left by the receding tide. They are never seen to swim voluntarily, although furnished with feet
so extensively palmated as to constitute an admirable provision for enabling them to traverse the soft and
yielding substance in which they find their food. Their legs also are formed for wading, being laterally compressed
and thin, and thus offering the least possible resistance to their progress through the water. They
are quick and active b ird s ; and their flight, from the form and dimensions o f their wings, is powerful and
rapid. In spring they resort to those marine marshes which are only occasionally or partially covered by the
tide, and select the driest part for the purpose o f nidification. If disturbed a t this season, particularly when
the young are first excluded, they fly round in repeated- circles, uttering a t the’ same time without intermission
their peculiar cry, which resembles the word twit twice repeated.”
The eggs (which are said to be deposited in a small depression of the surface in the drier part o f the
marsh, either on the bare ground or on a small quantity o f dry grass) are two and sometimes three in
number, o f an ochreous brown, spotted and speckled with black, some o f the spots appearing as if beneath
the surface of the sh ell; they are about two inches in length by one inch and a half in breadth. “ Some
specimens,” says Mr. Hewitson, “ are larger and more irregularly and closely covered with unequal blotches
of colour, a good deal like those of the Peewit, from which they may always be distinguished by the greater
quantity o f ochreous yellow in the ground-colour.”
1 he sexes present little, if any, difference in the colouring of their plumage; neither am I aware th at the
bird is Subject to any seasonal change; having attained their full dress, they are ever after distinguished by
their black and white livery.
The young, until they are clothed with feathers, closely resemble the young o f the Summer Snipe (Actitis
hypoleucos). I t will be seen by the accompanying drawing, that at this early period their legs andiitoes are
very similar to those o f the adult in colour, except th at they are tinged with g re e n ; they are, however, dis
proportionately large, and very tumid a t the joints.
Crown, occiput, nape, back o f the neck, scapularies, lesser wing-coverts, and primaries black; the remain?- -
der o f the plumage pure wh ite; beak b lack ; i rides reddish brown; legs and toes pale b lu e ; webs dark
brown; nails black.
The young a t about three weeks old, when they are beginning to assume their stub-feathers, have a dark
line before and behind the eye, and the upper surface of a pale creamy brown, crossed by irregular bars o f
dark brown, and a wash o f rufous on the scapularies; some o f the more elongated feathers are'said to retain
a reddish-brown tint on their ends until the autumn moult of the bird’s second year of existence.
The Plate represents an adult and two young birds about three weeks old, of the natural size.