40 Presidential Address. 



plover, although superior to his mate, undertakes a full share of 

 her maternal duties. But the most surprising cases of all are those 

 ■of the Phalaropes and Godwits, where ttie female is larger and 

 more conspicuously coloured than the male, who undertakes the 

 whole duty of incubation. As regards the Bar-tailed Godwit, 

 one out of four birds flushed from nests is stated by Mr Howard 

 Saunders to have been a female,^ so that this species should 

 possibly be included in the previous category. I speak of the 

 iRed-necked Phalarope from personal experience in two different 

 .seasons, and a more anxious mother than the male could not be 

 conceived; whereas the female, well, I suppose I can best liken 

 her to a profligate " man about town." 



The following shows how far I have been able to tabulate 

 the Charadriidre, according to which sex incubates the eggs : — 

 Females Incubate — Pratincole, Cream-coloured Courser, Ringed 

 Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Golden Plover, 

 Lapwing, Oyster-catcher, Woodcock, Great Snipe, Common 

 Snipe, Jack Snipe, Red-breasted Snipe, Pectoral Sandpiper, 

 Dunlin, American Stint, Purple Sandpiper, Ruff, Buff-breasted 

 Sandpiper, Bartram's Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Common 

 Redshank, Greenshank, Curlew, Whimbrel. Both Sexes Incubate 

 ■ — Stone Curlew, Dotterel, Killdeer Plover, American Golden 

 Plover, Grey Plover, Sociable Plover, Turnstone, Avocet, Broad- 

 billed Sandpiper, Little Stint, Curlew-Sandpiper, Knot, Sander- 

 ling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit. Males Incubate — 

 Grey Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Temminck's Stint. The 

 species about which I have found no definite information on 

 this point are: — Black-winged Pratincole, Eastern Golden 

 Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Baird's Sandpiper, Boneparte's 

 Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sand- 

 piper, Solitary Sandpiper, Yellowshank, Greater Yellowshank, 

 Spotted Redshank, Eskimo Curlew. If my knowledge of birds 

 was not so confined, I expect I should be able to add to the 

 number of what we may perhaps christen abnormal species, 

 and I only quote one more instance of the superiority of the 

 female over the male. Professor Xewton states: — "The 

 so-called Painted Snipes, forming the genus Rostratula, or 

 Rhynchx-a, are now admitted natives respectively of South 

 America, Africa, and southern Asia, and Australia. In all of 

 these it appears that the female is larger and more brilliantly 



