avocet (AV-uh-set) - n., any of four species of shorebirds (genus Recurvirostra) with long legs, webbed feet, and long upcurved bills.
Related to stilts -- yes, there are long-legged shorebirds called stilts. Avocets feed in brackish or saline wetlands by sweeping the recurved bill from side to side through the water to stir up food. The name borrowed in 1766 from French avocette, from Italian avosetta, of unknown origin, possibly from Venetian dialect.
---L.
Related to stilts -- yes, there are long-legged shorebirds called stilts. Avocets feed in brackish or saline wetlands by sweeping the recurved bill from side to side through the water to stir up food. The name borrowed in 1766 from French avocette, from Italian avosetta, of unknown origin, possibly from Venetian dialect.
---L.