DOTTEREL. 185 
Immature —Differs from the adult in having all the characters much more 
faintly indicated, except on the crown of the head where the black band of the adult 
is entirely absent. 
Nestling—Appears to be undescribed. 
Nest.—A depression in the soil. 
Eggs.— Clutch, three to five; ground-colour is of a rich cream or buff, 
sparingly sprinkled all over with irregular spots and some elongated crooked 
markings of chocolate-black with a few minute dots and dashes of a lighter tint ; 
the markings look black in certain lights, but of a chocolate tint in others ; axis 
37 mm., diameter 27. 
Breeding-months—April, May, August, September and October. 
Distribution and forms.—Confined to Central Australia. Two subspecies 
have been determined, but more may later be recognised ; these are: P. a. australis 
(Gould) from eastern interior (South Australia), and P. a. whitlocki (Mathews) 
from interior Western Australia, a darker and larger race. 
SuporpDER OTIDIFORMES. 
The Bustards we have allowed as a suborder of the order Lari or Limicole, 
though we acknowledge this is a debatable point. The examination of the bill 
proclaims it to be Plover-like, while the legs are quite unmistakably of the same 
affinity and certainly not at all Gruine. The nestling plumage is also referable 
to the Limicoline series and not to the Gruine form. They are all large stoutly-built 
birds with longish necks, short heads, flattened broad bills, long round wings, short 
tail and long stout legs and small feet with no hind-toe. The distribution of the 
suborder is tropical and subtropical. 
Osteologically, the skull shows a schizognathous palate while the nasals are 
commonly cited as holorhinal, but this is a pseudo-holorhiny and is of schizorhinal 
origin. There are no basipterygoid processes, and the descending process of the 
lachrymal does not anchylose with the ethmoid. The coracoids do not touch at 
their articulation with the sternum, the cervical vertebre sixteen to eighteen in 
number, and the sternum is doubly notched. The members of the suborder are 
remarkable for the variation in the number of the carotids, some genera having 
both, others only the left, and for Austrotis australis the right has only been recorded, 
a state unique. The digestive system is periccelous, and the ceca are remarkable 
and variable in form. The syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, without intrinsic muscles. 
The leg muscle formula is BXY-+, and there is no biceps slip, but an expansor 
secundariorum is present. There is no oil gland, but an aftershaft is present ; 
the wing is aquincubital and the pterylosis is variable and the variation yet 
undetermined. 
Famity OTIDIDA. 
In this family from internal items Austrotis is almost the best marked genus, 
possessing the least modified form of syrinx, the most peculiar ceca, extraordinary 
carotid development, and a “‘ showing-ofi ’ apparatus quite distinct from that of 
the well-known type. 
Genus AUSTROTIS. 
Austrotis Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. II. pt. 1, p. 12, Aug. 2nd, 1913. Type (by original 
designation): Otis australis Gray. 
Otidine birds with medium-sized bill, long wings, long legs, and long tail. 
The bill is rather long, flattened, wide at the base, with the nostrils placed near 
