CHARADRIID.E. 



433 



SUB-FAMILY IV 



Charadriin.e. 



The Ti^m Plovt^rt 



GrEN. Charac. — Bill more or less long and slender, the culmen depressed at 

 the base but vaulted at the tip, the sides compressed and grooved ; the nos- 

 trils basal, linear, and placed in the groove of the upper mandible ; the wings 

 long and pointed ; the tail moderate, broad, and generally even ; the tarsi 

 usually long and rather slender ; the toes sometimes three and sometimes 

 four in number, the outer toe longer than the inner, and more or less united 

 at the base ; the claws small, compressed, and curved. 



Fig. 173.— the eikged plovei 

 (Ckaradrius Hiaticula.) 



The True Plovers are found in most parts of the 

 world. They are usually seen in small flocks in the 

 neighbourhood of the sea-coast, frequently near 

 creeks and the mouths of rivers, where the shore is 

 composed of gravel; but during the summer months 

 they separate in pairs, and frequent the banks of 

 rivers, inland lakes, elevated mountains, and open 

 moors. Their food consists of small insects and 



