290 LOBITES. LOBEFOOT. 



lobed and pectinated membrane. Claws very small, curved, 

 compressed, pointed. 



Plumage full, soft, blended ; the feathers oblong and 

 much curved. Wings long, pointed, the first quill longest ; 

 secondaries fifteen, rather short, incurved, the inner very 

 long and tapering. Tail rather short, much rounded, of 

 twelve feathers. 



Lobipes differs from Phalaropus chiefly in having the bill 

 more slender, depressed, and tapering to a point, instead of 

 becoming enlarged toward the end. There is, however, little 

 difference in their habits. These birds resemble the Tringse 

 and Totani in their modes of walking and flying, as well as 

 in their food, which consists of insects, Crustacea, and mol- 

 lusca ; but they are often seen swimming in lakes, and even 

 in the open sea, sometimes many leagues from land. They 

 have not, however, the faculty of diving ; in which respect 

 they differ from the Coots and Grebes, with which some 

 have associated them, merely on account of their scalloped 

 toes. They moult twice in the year, their summer plumage 

 being more variegated and more brightly coloured than that 

 of winter ; and are said to breed in marshy places and on 

 the edges of lakes, laying four pyriform spotted eggs. 



Independently of other considerations, the structure of 

 the digestive organs is sufficient to point out the affinities of 

 these birds. 



Fig. 22. 



