On Heaths and Marshes. 1 19 



haunts it affects. That of Stone Curlew probably 

 refers to the stony haunt and the very Curlew-like 

 appearance of the bird itself; whilst those of Norfolk 

 Plover and Stone Plover are indicative of a favourite 

 resort of the species in England and a more correct 

 determination of its affinities, for there can be no 

 doubt that the bird is more closely allied to the 

 CharadriiuDe than to the Scolopacinae. Less happily 

 the bird has been called the "Thick-knee" because 

 of the peculiar enlargement of the tibio-tarsal joint, 

 but this is not the " knee " in an anatomical sense, 

 but analogous to the ankle-joint in man. With 

 more propriety, therefore, if with less euphony, the 

 bird should be termed a " Thick-ankle ", or a '' Thick- 

 heel ", Lastly, it is known to some as the " Thick- 

 kneed Plover" or "Thick-kneed Bustard". In 

 this latter case popular judgment is to some extent 

 supported by anatomical facts, for the Stone Curlew 

 is by no means distantly related to the Bustards, 

 certainly more nearly than to the Curlews. It is 

 rather a remarkable fact that the Stone Curlew is a 

 mioratorv bird, when we bear in mind that on both 

 shores of the Mediterranean it is a sedentary species, 

 and that its food — worms, snails, beetles, frogs, and 

 mice — micrht be obtained in sufficient abundance 

 in England throughout the winter. In fact, there 

 are many instances on record of this bird passing 

 the winter in Encrland, although we should scarcely 



