3C0L0PAC1DJE. 457 



FAMILY III. 



ScoLOPACiD.E. The Snij^es. 



Gex. Chaeac. — Bill generall}^ long, slender, curved or straight throughout 

 its length, with the sides compressed and grooved to the tip, which is obtuse ; 

 the nostrils basal, longitudinal, closed b}- a membrane, and placed in the 

 groove; the wings long and pointed; the tail usually short and even ; the 

 tarsi more or less long and slender ; the toes generally long and slender, the 

 lateral ones sometimes much united to the middle by a membrane, the hind 

 toe short, resting on the ground, or entirely wanting. 



Tliese birds are araong the smaller species of the 

 order ; tlieir bills are long^ slender^ and nearly 

 cylindrical^ obtuse at the end^ and generally some- 

 what flexible and of a softer texture than in most 

 birds. The upper mandible is a little longer than 

 the lower^ and usually grooved on each side ; the 

 nostrils are small_, and situated at the base of the 

 bill in the lateral grooves. In the development of 

 the legs, the members of this sub-family differ con- 

 siderably among themselves, some having their 

 tarsi longer and more slender, in proportion to their 

 size, than any other birds, whilst others are sup- 

 ported upon comparatively short limbs. The ante- 

 rior toes are of moderate length, and frequently 

 connected at their base by membranes ; the poste- 

 rior toe, when present, is small and slightly ele- 

 vated, but sometimes this toe is entirely wanting ; 

 the wings are well developed, and these birds gene- 

 rally possess considerable powers of flight. 



The members of this family are all inhabitants of 

 marshy lands, the borders of swamps, lakes, and 

 rivers, and the shores of the sea. Their food con- 

 sists of worms, slugs, aquatic mollusca, &c. Most 

 of the genera procure their subsistence by thrusting 

 their bill into the soft earth or the mud of the shore, 

 whence they extract their prey. To facilitate this 

 operation, their bill is at once a probe, a feeler, and 

 an organ of prehension ; an extraordinary develop- 



