326 TOTANUS. TATLER. 



bare to a considerable extent ; tarsus with numerous broad 

 scutella anteriorly, blunt and scutellate behind ; toes small ; 

 the anterior flattened beneath and marginate ; first very small 

 and elevated ; lateral toes about equal, connected with the 

 third by a basal web, of which the outer is larger. Claws 

 small, compressed, slightly curved, obtuse. 



Plumage moderately full, very soft, rather blended, and 

 glossy above. Wings long and pointed ; quills about twenty- 

 five ; primaries tapering, obtuse, the first longest ; secon- 

 daries short, incurved, but the inner elongated, one of them 

 not much shorter than the third primary when the wing is 

 closed. Tail short, straight, rounded, of twelve narrow, 

 rounded feathers. 



The Tatlers are birds of small or moderate size. Their 

 long, slender legs, and rather short flattened and marginate 

 toes, correspond with their habit of running on the mud or 

 sand of the shores of the sea, of lakes, or of streams. Their 

 long, slender bill, elastic and hardened towards the end, 

 enables them to pick up small or minute objects from the 

 surface, as well as from beneath it. Their food consists of 

 insects, larvoe, worms, mollusca, and Crustacea, along with 

 which they swallow sand and gravel. All the species are 

 remarkable for the vibratory or balancing motion of their 

 body, which is especially observable when they are alarmed, 

 or utter their cries, which are loud, shrill, and generally 

 reiterated. They are mostly of solitary habits, and are ex- 

 tremely shy, and in danger clamorous. Their flight is rapid, 

 somewhat undulated, and as if vacillating. They moult 

 twice in the year, but generally undergo little alteration of 

 colour. Their nest is a slight hollow, generally among sand, 

 gravel, or stone, sometimes among the herbage ; their eggs 

 four, very large, pyriform, spotted. The young, at first 

 covered with longish down, run about from the first, and 

 conceal themselves by squatting, the old birds exhibiting 

 much anxiety for their safety, as expressed by their hurried 

 desultory flight and clamorous cries. Some species of the 

 genus are found in all parts of the globe. Four are reckoned 

 inhabitants of this country ; but of these only one is common 

 or generally distributed. 



