TURNSTONE 



59 



sparsely lined with grass, which constitutes the nest. The group 

 includes several subfamilies, of which the first comprises the plovers 

 and lapwings, together with the somewhat aberrant turnstone ; the 

 latter differing from the rest in the character of the beak, which has 

 evidently been specially modified in accordance with the habits of the 

 bird. Collectively, the Charadriin<-E, as the subfamily group is called, 

 are characterised by the length of the beak not exceeding that of the 

 head, with the groove for the nostrils not extending along more than 

 half the beak itself, and by the scales on the hind surface of the lower 

 part of the leg, and frequently also on the front surface, forming a net- 

 work pattern. While the turnstone is a frequenter of the seashore. 



TURNSTONE. 



the plovers and lapwings are birds of the open meadows and grassy 

 and sandy tracts, rather than dwellers near marshes. 



The turnstone, which in some works is termed Arenaria interpres, 

 differs, as already mentioned, from the plovers by the form of the beak, 

 which is conical and pointed, with the upper surface straight and flat, 

 and the narrow nostrils lying in a groove which extends for half its 

 length. The first primary quill of the long and pointed wing exceeds 

 all the others in length ; the short lower part of the leg has transverse 

 shields in front, the hind-toe is well developed, and there is no webbing 

 of the front-toes. Of the two species of turnstone, the one is American, 

 while the second, or that here under consideration, is practically cosmo- 

 politan, and breeds in the high latitudes of the frozen north, visiting 

 such countries as India and Ceylon in winter. 



