374 



SNIPES. 



but the extensive development of the web connecting and bor- 

 dering the margins of the toes, as well as the thick and closely- 

 set plumage of the under parts of the body, indicate more aquatic 

 habits ; and accordingly we find that these birds are often seen 

 upon the surface of the ocean, even in the midst of the roughest 

 waves. Their plumage is thick and closely set, and the toes, 

 besides being united together at the base by a web, are bordered 



Fig. 1S7. -The Grey Phalakope {Phalare^iis liypcrl/oreus). 



by a continuation of that membrane, making their feet efficient 

 l^addles, although they are equally adapted for progression on dry 

 land ; so that these are birds of varied accomplishments, flying 

 rapidly like the snipes, running after the fashion of the sandpipers, 

 .md swimming with the facility of ducks. Their usual habitat is 

 in the Arctic and Northern Seas. During the breeding season 

 they repair to the coast, where they build a neat nest, composed 

 of grass and weeds, upon the sea-shore, in some slight hollow on 

 the ground. The eggs are four in number. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The Grey Phalarope or Lobe-foot {Phalaropus hyperhorcus). These 

 birds are inhabitants of the north-eastern parts of Europe and Northern Asia, 

 where they are nimierous upon the large lakes and rivers of Siberia; they also 

 abound in North America ; but their range, even during their migrations 

 southward, does not seem to extend far beyond the limits of the Arctic circle. 

 In their habits they are much more aquatic than the tringas, passing the 



