376 SCREAMERS. 



appropriate occupants. The surfaces of lakes and ponds, for 

 example, in tropical countries are frequently covered over with 

 luxuriant vegetation to such a degree that they might almost 

 be said to be carpeted with verdure too unstable to support the 

 weight of birds of ordinary construction, and at the same time 

 too dense to give passage to swimming water-fowl. To meet the 

 requirements of such situations, which from their great extent 

 are by no means unimportant, a numerous family has been spe- 

 cially constructed, able, by means of their lengthened toes, to 

 walk over the floating leaves, and to give animation by their 

 cries and their quarrels to regions which v/ithout such contri- 

 vance would remain silent and desolate. 



This family includes the Jacanas or Tank-runners, and the 

 Screamers properly so called. 



Suh-Fainily I. 

 THE JACANAS. PARKING. 



General Characteristics.— Bill lengthened, slender, with the culmen straight at 

 the base and vaulted at the tip, which is entire; the nasal groove long and narrow, 

 and the opening of the nostrils placed in the middle of the bill, small and oval ; 

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

 and slender ; the toes very long, slender, and armed with long slender claws, espe- 

 cially the hind toe. 



These remarkably footed birds are found in the warmer parts 

 of Asia, Africa, and America. They frequent marshes and the 

 sides of rivers and ponds, generally in pairs or small flocks. 

 Their shy and timorous habits induce them, when alarmed, to 

 dive into the water, and skulk among the reeds and other kinds 

 of herbage : occasionally they seek safety by a short flight. The 

 remarkable length of their toes and claws enables them to run 

 with great facility over plants that float on the surface of the lakes 

 and marshes in broad patches. Their food consists of aquatic 

 insects and the buds and seeds of vegetables. The female makes 

 her nest among reeds ; her eggs are four in number. 



An African species, whose body is not larger than that of our 

 common snipe, has such enormous feet that its fore toes measure 

 no less than three inches and a quarter, and its hind one two 



