412 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



SUB-ORDER GRALL^E. WADEES. 



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 Gralke 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 Alectwides 

 (by Burmeister into Limicolce and Paludicoloe) : 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 : 



LIMICOLJE. 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. 



PALUDICOL.E. 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 LIMICOLCE. 



Birds living on the shore or in open places, usually small species, with rounded 

 or depressed bodies, and slender bills of variable length, having 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. BUKMEISTER. 1 



1 See Introduction. 



