630 BIRDS OP INDIA. 



The Pratincoles, as they are sometimes called, are a peculiar 

 group of birds which Cuvier placed at the end of the Grallatores 

 as ' incertce sedis.^ Their anatomy and especially the form of 

 the sternum ally them to the Plovers, of which they are considered 

 a sub-family by Gray ; but they appear sufficiently distinct in 

 their external characters, organisation and habits to separate them 

 as a family. Linnaeus placed them with the Swallows, which they 

 resemble by their wide gape, short bill, and the forked tail of 

 many ; and Blyth even approximates them to Caprimidgus. The 

 analogies to the Caprimulgidce are certainly curious. The wide 

 gape, short curved bill, the similar scutation of the foot, with the 

 back toe slightly directed inwards, and the middle claw somewhat 

 pectinated ; its mode of flight, serai-nocturnal habits, and hawking 

 for insects in the air all correspond with the night-hawks, and it 

 will be an interesting problem for some future Darwinian to trace 

 out the order of progression, and show the significance of these 

 marks. The sternum is that of the CharadridcB, with a double 

 emargination, the tongue is broad and flat, with a thin serrated 

 tip, and the stomach is strong and muscular. Keyserling and 

 Blasius join the Pratincoles with the Courier-plovers to form one 

 family. They are called Sea-partridges by the French from some 

 fancied resemblance to a Gallinaceous bird. They seek their 

 insect food chiefly in the air, but they also run well. They 

 are stated to have a double moult, but do not change the colours 

 of their plumage. They are found in all the warmer and temperate 

 countries of the Old World. 



Gen. Glareola, Brisson. 



Syn. Pratincola. 



Char. — Bill short, convex, arched from the middle ; gape very 

 deeply cleft ; nostrils basal, oblique, semi-tubular ; wings narrow, 

 very long and pointed, with the first quill longest ; tail short and 

 even, or long and forked ; tarsi moderate, reticulated, slender ; four 

 toes ; the outer toe united at the base to the middle one by a 

 short web ; middle claw pectinated ; hind toe not touching the 

 ground ; nails pointed. 



