PAINTED SNIPE. 119 
tinction to these, the Avocets and Stilts occur in tropical and subtropical regions 
of the world and in this family Australia has three species referable to three genera, 
the whole number admitted, and one of which is restricted to Australia. 
The osteological items vary in this superfamily as detailed under the suborder 
and little attention has yet been paid to this matter. Lowe has recently begun a 
series of articles but the material available is not sufficient to determine the debat- 
able items accurately. At the present time the superficial details hereafter given 
are of considerably more importance than the variable and inconstant anatomical 
items recorded. 
Famity ROSTRATULIDA. 
Mathews separated the Painted Snipe with family rank from a study of the 
superficial features and Ridgway has since suggested its separation also. The 
superficial features are those given for the genus which has the extraordinary range 
of South America, South Africa, South Asia and Australia, and the species are very 
difficult to distinguish. The females are larger and more beautifully feathered than 
the males, who have to undertake the duties of incubation, while the female is said 
to be polyandric. The windpipe is convoluted in the adult female, but not in the 
male or immature female. 
Recently Lowe has published some notes on the osteology of the genus, especially 
as regards the skull and has concluded it ‘‘is neither Scolopacine nor Ralline. It 
is, however, Limicoline, possibly a surviving relic of a primitive Limicoline stock.” 
The palate is schizognathous and the nasals schizorhinal ; there are well-developed 
basipterygoid processes, occipital foramina and indistinct supraorbital grooves. 
The premaxilla is quite peculiar when compared with that of other Scolopacoid forms. 
Genus ROSTRATULA. 
Rostratula Vieillot, Analyse nouv. Ornith., p. 56, April 14th, 1816. Type (by monotypy) : 
Bécassine de Madagascar Bufion = Scolopax capensis Linné. 
Rhynchea Cuvier, Régne Anim., Vol. I., p. 487, Dec. 7th, 1816. Type (by monotypy) : 
Scolopax capensis Linné. 
Rostratuline birds with long decurved bills, long wings, long legs and feet. 
The bill is long, hard, narrow, and decurved at the tip ; a deep narrow groove 
extends more than half-way along the sides of the upper mandible and ends abruptly ; 
the bill is narrow at the base and about the same width all the way, somewhat 
flattened immediately after the ending of the groove, but then the tip is obsoletely 
keeled with a slight grooving at the sides ; the under mandible can scarcely be said 
to be grooved, but shallowly channelled on the side, and the tip of the same form as 
that of the upper mandible. The culmen is less than one-third the length of the 
wing and about equal to the metatarsus, which is longer than the middle toe. 
The wing is somewhat concave though the first primary is longest, the second 
and third being little shorter. 
The metatarsus is scutellate in front and behind with part of the tibia 
unfeathered ; the toes are long with no interwebbing ; the tail is short, composed 
of sixteen feathers. We can see no close relationship between the birds of this 
genus and Gallinagine birds. 
82. Rostratula australis—PAINTED SNIPE. 
Gould, Vol. VI., pl. 41 (pt. rx.), Dec. Ist, 1842. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 4, pl. 168, Dec. 31st, 
1913. 
Rhynchea australis Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. 1v., App., p. 6, April Ist, 1838: New 
South Wales. 
Rostratula australis fitzroyi Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 4, p. 85, Sept. 18th, 1912: 
Parry’s Creek, North-west Australia. 
Distrisution.—Australia generally and Tasmania. 
