220 AVOCBT.
thirteen; length, nearly one foot six inches. The bill of this elegant
bird, at once its 'decus et tutamen/ is adapted by the all wise Providence
of Goo for the prosecution of the individual instinct with which He
has endowed it; it is about three inches and a half in length, black
in colour, curved upwards, and somewhat flexible; iris, deep reddish
brown; over it there are sometimes a few white feathers in a line, and
sometimes there is a little white on the forehead. Head on the crown,
neck on the back, and nape, black; chin, throat, and breast, white;
back on the upper part, black; on the lower, white.
The wings have the first quill feather the longest, when closed they
reach rather beyond the end of the tail, and when extended measure
two feet and a half across; lesser wing coverts, black; primaries, black.
Legs, long, stout, and delicate pale blue, or blue g r e y ; the toes are
of the same colour; they are semipalmated, that is, the three front ones;
the hind one is only rudimentary. The whole plumage is smooth and
compact.
The female is about one foot five inches in length. In other respects
she is like the male.
I n the young of the year, the bill is dusky; iris, dusky; the black
parts of the plumage arc tinged with brown, and during the second
year, till the autumnal moult, some of the feathers are still reddish
brown at the end.
The quantity and distribution of the black colour in the Avocet
varies in different specimens.