Mr. P. R. Lowe on the Crab-Plover. 335 



Dramas, but that of the first is triradiate instead of bifid at 

 its extremity. The hypapophyses of the cervico-dorsals are 

 also very similar to^ if not identical with, those of Dromas. 



Sternum. — This is long and laterally compressed, and in 

 general features is more pluvialine than larine. 



Humerus. — Taking this bone as an index of the whole 

 upper limb, I find that the characters exhibited by it are 

 distinctly pluvialine. It is easily to be distinguished from 

 either a larine, sternine, or stercorarine humerus. 



Lower Limb. — There are no points about the bones of the 

 lower limb worthy of special notice here. It seems sufficient 

 to note that they present pluvialine characters. 



Skull of a Chick. 



The most interesting feature about the skull of the nestling 

 Crab-Plover sent to me by Dr. Brockman was the fact 

 that basipterygoid processes were present. As might have 

 been expected, these were not so perfect as was the case in 

 the young embryo Sheath-bill referred to above (cf. text- 

 figure 7), since this young Crab-Plover had evidently been 

 hatched for several days ; but, nevertheless, both the facets 

 on the pterygoids and the corresponding processes on the 

 basisphenoidal rostrum are very clearly to be seen in the 

 specimen which I have preserved and which is now in the 

 British Museum collection. Moreover, on the left side a 

 distinct and tough ligamentous band is to be noted joining 

 the basisphenoidal process to the pterygoidal. 



As regards the rest of the skull, very little more can be 

 learnt from it than from an adult skull, except that the 

 supraorbital portion of the vault of the cranium has a more 

 generalised and has a more true limicoline facies than is the 

 case in the adult skull. We might, indeed, go further, and 

 state that this anterior frontal, as well as the lacrymo-nasal 

 region, is reminiscent of a tringine (totanine olini) Wader, 

 so narrow is the interorbital space and so little specialised 

 and simple are the supraorbital margins and grooves. Supra- 

 occipital fenestra are not present or indicated. 



