File:Feathered game of the Northeast (1907) (14753080314).jpg

Identifier: featheredgameofn00ric (find matches)
Title: Feathered game of the Northeast
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Rich, Walter Herbert, 1866-
Subjects: Game and game-birds
Publisher: New York, T.Y. Crowell & Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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asthey probe into the muddy bottom with theirbills. In many respects this bird is one of the mostremarkable of the waders^ with its strikingmarkings of plumage, long, slender and up-turned bill, long legs and webbed feet, and be-ing also heavily and closely feathered under-neath, there is no difficulty in its swimming orwading. Indeed, it makes nothing of alightingin deep water from its flights when it so wishes,and it can swim as well as a duck. It is cer-tainly well fitted for any exigency of life. Weare told that it is very noisy and less wary inhabit than is conducive to its safety. The Avocet is extremely long-legged, prob-ably proportionately more so than any otherwader unless it be the stilt. Its plumage ismainly white, changing to a rusty or cinnamonbrown on the head and neck, paling at the baseof the bill, darkest on the head and fading grad-ually into the white of the breast and body.The interscapulars and a part of the scapularsare black. Wings for the most part black, but
Text Appearing After Image:
UJ u O> < THE STILT 99 some of the secondaries and the linings of thewings are white. The tail short and squarelycut, pearl gray or light ashy. Iris bright red.Bill long, slender and generally up-curved, isblack in color. Its long legs are a dull, paleblue, with lighter webs, these sometimes flesh-colored. Length from sixteen to twenty in-ches; wing spread varying from thirty-two tothirty-six inches. The wings and tail are often very short forthis family, thus their measurements may varywidely in different specimens, but there is nochance for confusing the Avocet with any otherof our birds, for his cinnamon head, short andsquare-cut tail, to say nothing of the slender,long and up-curved bill and the webbing of thefeet will identify him at once. The range of this species is from the Sas-katchewan southward through the United Statesto Central America and the West Indies. THE STILT. (Himantopus mexicanus.) Having much the same range as the avocet,though perhaps more southerly in it

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