e 
412 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
SUB-ORDER GRALLA. Warns. 
Feathers of the head and neck extending over the entire cheeks to the bill; bill, 
when much longer than head, slender at the base; sometimes thick and shorter than 
the head; young running about and feeding themselves as soon as hatched. 
The preceding characteristics indicate, in a general way, the characteristics of 
the Gralle as distinguished from the Herodiones: they are usually much smaller 
birds, and more especially inhabitants of the open sandy shore. Few or none of the 
species nest on trees or bushes, the eggs being generally laid in a cavity scooped 
out in the sand. 
The sub-order is divided by Bonaparte into two tribes, Cursores and Alectorides . 
(by Burmeister into Limicole and Paludicole): the first having the hind toe elevated, 
small, or wanting; the second having it lengthened, and inserted on a level with the 
rest. Additional characters are as follows: — 
LimicoL.— Species living on the shore, and generally probing the ground or 
mud in search of food; bill and legs generally lengthened and slender; bill hard at 
tip, softer and more contracted at base; anterior toes connected at base more or less 
by membranes, and with very short claws; hind toe very short, elevated, or wanting; 
wings long, pointed; outer primaries longest, and reaching to or beyond the tip of 
tail, which is stiff. 
PALUDICOL2. — Species living in marshy places among the grass, feeding from 
the surface of the ground; bill hard to its base, where it is not contracted; toes cleft 
to the base, lengthened, with very long claws; hind toe lengthened, and on same 
level with the rest; wing short, rounded, not reaching the tip of the soft tail; outer 
primaries graduated. 
Tribe LimicoLez. 
Birds living on the shore or in open places, usually small species, with rounded 
or depressed bodies, and slender bills of variable length, haying a more or less dis- 
tinct horny terminal portion, the remainder covered with soft skin, in which are 
situated the elongated, narrow, open, and distinct nostrils; the feathers of the head 
are small, and extend compactly to the base of the bill; they are similar in character 
to those of the neck and body; the wings are long, acute, and, when folded, reach- 
ing to or beyond the tip of the tail; the posterior or inner secondaries are generally 
as long as the outer primaries; the primaries are ten in number; the three outer 
longest and about equal; the tail is stiff, short, broad, and rounded or graduated ; 
the feathers usually twelve, sometimes more; the legs are slender and delicate, but 
corresponding with the bill in proportions; a large portion of the tibia below is bare 
of feathers; the covering of the legs is parchment-like, not horny, generally divided 
anteriorly and behind into small half rings, laterally more in hexagons; the claws 
are delicate, sharp, and gently curved; the hind toe is very small, scarcely touching 
the ground; sometimes wanting; there is usually (except in Calidris, Tringa, &c.) 
a rather broad basal membrane between the outer and middle toes, sometimes 
between the inner and middle; this web occasionally extends toward the ends of the 
toes. — BURMEISTER.1 
1 See Introduction. 
