38o GRALLATORES— GRASS-BIRD 



Tringa (Sandpiper), Fulica (Coot), Farm (Jacana), Rallus (Rail), 

 Psophia (Trumpeter), Cancroma (Boat-bill), Hsematoims (Oyster- 

 catcher), Charadrius (Plover), Otis (Bustard), and Struthio 

 (Ostrich). 



GRALLATORES, Illiger's modification (in 1811) of the pre- 

 ceding, dividing it into 8 Families and 32 genera. For some fifty 

 years this arrangement met in its main points with pretty general 

 acceptance, but systematists at last came to the conclusion that the 

 Order was an unnatural assemblage, and the name Grallatores is 

 now scarcely used by any writers of authority. 



GRALLINA, a genus founded by Vieillot in 1816 {Analyse, 

 p. 42), for what he thought was a new form of bird from New 

 Holland, G. melanoleuca ; but it had been already twice described in 

 1802 by Latham {Gen. Synops. Suppl. ii. pp. 117 and 130, and Ind. 

 Orn. Suppl. pp. 25, 29) as Corvus cyanoleucus and G^'acula picata, and 

 again in 1811 by Oppel, who also figured it {Denksdir. Akad. 

 hayer. Wissensch. iii. pp. 156-166, pi. viii.) as a new genus and 

 species, Tanypus aiistralis. This generic term being preoccupied, 

 Vieillot's has to be adopted, and it has been accepted as an English 

 word. Placed as it had been among Crows, Grackles, and 

 Thrushes, Gould shewed great discrimination {ffandb. B. Austral. 

 i. 187) in not referring it to any group ; but Dr. Sharpe {Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. iii. p. 272) assigned it to Frionojndse, even then a doubtful 

 position and a doubtful Family ; and Dr. Gadow has since ascer- 

 tained that its vocal organs are not those of the normal Oscines. 



Grallhia picata is generally dispersed over Australia, where it is 

 known as the Magpie-Lark, frequenting the alluvial plains and 

 sides of rivers, but being of a familiar disposition and constantly 

 visiting homesteads, when it is said to run along the roofs like a 

 Wagtail. Gould describes its flight as unlike that of any other 

 bird known to him, being " in a straight line with a heavy flapping 

 motion of the wings." It builds a large cup-like nest of mud or 

 earth, more or less mixed with grass, so as to look like a massive 

 clay vessel, and this is generally placed on a bare horizontal branch, 

 without attempt at concealment, though sometimes a few twigs or 

 leaves partially hide the structure. The eggs, 3 or 4 in number, 

 vary considerably in tint and markings (North, Cat. Nests and Eggs, 

 B. Austral, p. 79). This bird seems to be purely insectivorous. A 

 second species, G. bruijni, has been described from New Guinea 

 (Salvador!, Ann. Genov. vii. p. 929). 



GRAPE-EATER, a name given in Australia to one or more of 

 the species of Zosterops. 



GRASS-BIRD, a general name in America, from Canada to the 

 Antilles, for the smaller Sandpipers, or some of them at least ; but 



