Family XXXVI. SCOLOPACINE. SNIPES.
GENUS IX. HIMANTOPUS, Briss. STILT

Bill about twice as long as the head, very slender, roundish tapering, slightly recurved; upper mandible with its outline slightly curved upwards, the ridge rather flattened, the sides convex, the edges inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute; nasal groove nearly half the length of the bill; lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the sides grooved as far as the angle. Nostrils linear, direct, sub-basal. Head small, ovate, rounded above; neck very long and slender; body rather compact. Legs extremely elongated, slender; tibia bare for more than half its length, covered anteriorly with large curved scutella; tarsus very long, moderately compressed, scutellate before, reticulate on the sides; toes of moderate length, slender; first toe wanting; outer a little longer than inner, anterior toes webbed at the base. Claws sinall, nearly straight, moderately compressed. Plumage ordinary. Wings very long, of moderate breadth, acute, the first quill longest. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers.