^^ BIRDS OF INDIA. 



mage of these birds, some of the above species will require to be 

 withdrawn. 



The next great group is that of the Plovers, but some of the 

 forms usually associated with these birds, and popularly called 

 Plovers, are so distinct as to require their distribution into three 

 different families, Cursoridce, or Courier-plovers ; Glareolidce, or 

 Swallow-plovers ; and Charadridoe, or Plovers and Lapwings. 



Fam. CuRSORiD^. 



CursonncBi Gray. 



Tarsi elevated ; bill somewhat slender ; three toes only. Plumage 

 brown and rufous. Found in the warmer and temperate parts of 

 the Old World. 



Courier-plovers resemble Bustards in their anatomy, having a 

 large membranous stomach and short intestines, but they are of 

 small size and do not change their plumage at the breeding season. 

 Kepresentatives of two genera are found in India. 



Gen. CuRSORius, Latham. 



Syn. Tacliydromus, lUiger. 



Char. — Bill moderately long, slender, slightly arched through- 

 out and bent at the tip ; nostrils oval, not placed in a groove ; 

 wings moderate, the first and second quills longest ; tail short, 

 even, of twelve feathers ; tarsi long and slender, scutellated ; 

 lateral toes short, divided to the base ; nails small. 



The Courier-plovers form a small group distributed over the 

 Old World to the Indian islands, frequenting bare plains on which 

 they run freely ; they feed almost entirely on coleoptera and other 

 insects. One species is peculiar to India. Gray makes them a 

 sub-family of the Plovers, but the distinctive points of their 

 anatomy make it desirable to separate them. Degland even 

 places them among the Otitidce. 



840. Cursorius coromandelicus, Gmelin. 



Charadrius, apud Gmelin — Blyth, Cat. 1545 — Sykes, Cat. 

 206— Jerdon, Cat. 371.— C. asiaticus, Latham — Tachydromus 

 orientalis, SWAINSON— iVifftn, H. — Yerra chitawut Tel, also Ditra- 

 wayi, Tel. 



