SNIPES. 361 



on the sea-side of the Liverpool range, inhabiting the open downs and flats, 

 particularly in the neighbourhood of shallow lagoons, through which they 

 would wade in search of shelled mollusks, frogs, newts, and insects ; they also 

 feed on grasshoppers and other insects. Nevertheless, in this locality many 

 seasons sometimes elapse without one of them being seen. Their note is a 

 loud, hoarse croak. When feeding in flocks, they are closely packed, and from 

 the constant movement of their bills and tails, the whole mass seems to be in 

 perpetual motion," 



FAMILY in. 

 THE SNIPES. SCOLOPACID.E. 



General Characteristics. — Bill generally long, slender, curved or straight through- 

 out its length, with the sides compressed and grooved to the tip, which is obtuse ; 

 the nostrils basal, longitudinal, closed by a membrane, and placed in the groove ; 

 the wings long and pointed ; the tail usually short and even ; the tarsi more or less 

 long and slender ; the toes generally long and slender, the lateral ones sometimes 

 much united to the middle by a membrane, the hind toe short, resting on the ground, 

 or entirely wanting. 



These birds are among the smaller species of the Order: their 

 bills are long, slender, and nearly cylindrical, obtuse at the end, 

 and generally somewhat flexible and of a softer texture than in 

 most birds. The upper mandible is a little longer than the lower, 

 and usually grooved on each side; the nostrils are small, and 

 situated at the base of the bill in the lateral grooves. In the 

 development of the legs, the members of this sub-family differ 

 considerably among themselves, some having their tarsi longer 

 and more slender, in proportion to their size, than any other 

 birds, whilst others are supported upon comparatively short limbs. 

 The anterior toes are of moderate length, and frequently con- 

 nected at their base by membranes ; the posterior toe, when 

 present, is small and slightly elevated, but sometimes this toe is 

 entirely wanting ; the wings are well developed, and these birds 

 generally possess considerable powers of flight. 



The members of this family are all inhabitants of marshy lands, 

 the borders of swamps, lakes, and rivers, and the shores of the 

 sea. Their food consists of worms, slugs, aquatic mollusca, &c. 

 Most of the genera procure their subsistence by thrusting their 

 bill into the soft earth or the mud of the shore, whence they 

 extract their prey. To facilitate this operation, their bill is at 

 once a probe, a feeler, and an organ of prehension ; an extra- 

 ordinary development of nerve is distributed over its surface, biit 

 more especially just at the tip, the membrane covering which is 



