Male, 11, 16. Female, 117/12, 171/4.
Distributed throughout the country. Extremely abundant in the Middle and Eastern Districts, as well as in the interior, where it breeds, as far as Nova Scotia. Equally abundant in winter in the Southern States, though many migrate southward.
Scolopax minor, Gmel. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 661.
Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 40.
Scolopax minor, Bonap. Syn. p. 331.
Lesser Woodcock, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 194.
American Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 474.
GENUS VIII. RECURVIROSTRA, Linn. AVOCET.
Bill twice the length of the head, very slender, much depressed, tapering to a point, and slightly recurved; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight for half its length, then a little curved upwards, and at the tip slightly decurved, the ridge broad and flattened, the edges rather thick; nasal groove rather long and very narrow; lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line slightly curved upwards, the point very slender, extremely thin, and a little curved upwards. Nostrils linear, basal. Head small, rounded above, rather compressed; neck long; body compact. Legs very long, slender; tibia bare for half its length, and reticulated; tarsus very long, compressed, reticulated with hexagonal scales; toes rather short, the first extremely small; outer toe a little longer than inner; anterior toes connected by webs of which the anterior margin is deeply concave. Claws very small, compressed, rather acute. Plumage soft and blended. Wings long, pointed, the first quill longest; inner secondaries elongated and tapering. Tail short, even, of twelve rather narrow rounded feathers. Tongue short in proportion to the length of the bill, slender, tapering to a point; œsophagus wide, considerably dilated at the lower part of the neck; stomach an oblong gizzard of moderate strength, its epithelium hard, longitudinally rugous; intestine long and of moderate width; cœca rather long.
355. 1. Recurvirostra Americana, Linn. American Avocet.
Plate CCCXVIII. Adult, and Young in winter.
Bill black; feet light blue; head, neck, and fore part of breast reddish-buff, the parts around the base of the bill and the eye nearly white; back white, with a longitudinal band of brownish-black elongated feathers on each side; inner scapulars of the same colour, the outer and interior edge of the wing being white; wing brownish-black, with a broad band of white, formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, four of the inner secondaries, and the basal part, with the inner webs and outer edges of the rest; lower parts white.
Male, 18, 305/8.
Passes along the coast from Texas northward, in small numbers, a few breeding in New Jersey. Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Abundant in the Rocky Mountains, and the Fur Countries. Migratory.