Shukkldt : OsiF.oi.ocv ok ihk Limicoi./k. 33 



sorry to say 1 la( k, it is iniijossiblc to Icll how far forwards beneath 

 the luhiien. and on the inner sides of the premaxillary the nasals are 

 extentleil. We have just seen above that they reach ahnost to the 

 tij) of the beak in Plovers. 



'l"he premaxillary is ([uite broad and subcompressed as it slopes 

 somewhat gently away from the frontal region of the skull between the 

 nasal bones. It becomes gradually narrower as it proceeds towards 

 the distal tip, but alters but little in form. In an old individual of 

 N. longiros/ris, it is nearly six times as long as the remainder of the 

 skull, twice as long as the corresponding parts in iV. borealis. Other 

 forms graduate between these two ; in N. arquata it is fully four times 

 as long, and is more generally curved throughout. 



At the point marked / in Fig. lo, and in B of Hg. 1 1 , the nasal meets 

 the maxillary. Beneath, and a little beyond this point, the palatine 

 also merges with these bones. These elements thus unite to form a 

 common rod that contracts immediately after the union to a delicately 

 fashioned stem to w-hich I have given the name of the subnarinal bar. 

 They are seen on either side of the nasal process of the premaxillary, at 

 first beneath the osseous narinal slit, then to pass under this bone, be- 

 coming at the same time flatter, more closely applied for the entire 

 length, until they merge into it near the tip at /', Fig. lo. In N. 

 longirostris these bones may be pulled away from the other part of the 

 premaxillary, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. w, A, and they 

 spring back to their original position when the hold is released. 



This is only possible in those curlews that have very long bills. It 

 is not a particularly noticeable feature in the Eskimo Curlew, nor the 

 whimbrel. The sutures among these bones are completely obliterated 

 in the adult skull, so it is not possible to tell the precise limits of the 

 several ones entering into the composition of this bar ; no doubt the 

 dentary or maxillary process of the premaxillary takes a large share. 

 The delicate curling crest of bone found just within the nasal bar 

 above, and united with the rounded otiter margin of the premaxillary, 

 belongs to the nasal of that side. 



In X. /iiiilsoiiiciis this character is absent, while, on the other hand, 

 it is exaggerated in N. borealis, in which bird the entire rhinal 

 chamber seems to l)e filled with this enlarged bone, here forming a hol- 

 low sub-cylinder, which meets a similar cylindrical formation of the 

 maxillo-])alatine coming from below. (Compare c and d, Fig. 12.) 



\Ve tlnd the vomer to be a very well developed bone in N. loti- 

 8 



