C. Alex Hartman Mark P. Herzog John Y. Takekawa Julie A. Robinson Lewis W. Oring Joseph P. Skorupa Ruth Boettcher A. Poole Joshua T. Ackerman 2013 This large, striking shorebird with long bluish-gray legs, a long recurved bill, and a black-and-white chevron pattern on its back and wings is one of four Avocet species in the world, the only one with distinct breeding and non-breeding plumages -- its grayish-white head and neck feathers become cinnamon in early spring as birds begin to form pairs and migrate to breeding areas. application/pdf 10.2173/bna.275 en Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) chapter