THE RINGED PLOVER. t 1 93 



ascertainable, tabulated the characters of the families found in 

 the Charadriiformes. It is regretted that the table is so imperfect, 

 but the creators of these families have rarely worked the 

 characters right through with a due regard to the characters 

 upon which the other families in the same order have been 

 founded. This often leaves the student in great doubt about his 

 classification of a bird (Plate II.). The Family Charadriida is 

 divided into eight Sub-Families, and we have tabulated these so 

 far as the materials at our disposal would permit of our doing 

 so. (Plate III.) The sub-family Himantopodina will probably 

 be still further sub-divided in the near future. The third 

 sub-family, the Lobivanellince, is absent from Great Britain, and 

 we have accordingly ignored it. 



It is in the Sub-Family IV., Charadriince, the typical sub- 

 family of the Charadmdtf, that JEgialitis hiaticola finds a resting 

 place. The Charadriince, although No. IV. in the British 

 Museum Catalogue of Birds, has been placed at the head of the 

 family by Mr. Howard Saunders in his manual, and this position 

 has been approved by Mr. R. Bowdler-Sharpe. It will be 

 observed that the typical characteristics of this sub-family are 

 the presence of a dertral swelling at the top of the bill and a 

 tarsus reticulated before and behind the hexagonal plates. Of 

 the genera at present recognised in the sub-family Charadriina 

 eight have occurred in Great Britain, viz. : 



(i.) Squatarola, (ii.) Charadrius, (iii.) Octhodromus, (iv.) 

 EudromiuS) (v.) Oxyechus, (vi.) JEgialitis, (vii.) Vanellus, (viii.) 

 Chaetusia. 



These genera are sharply divided by the shape of the wings 

 into two groups, which for convenience we will call the sharp- 

 winged group (A) and the blunt- winged group (B). Genera I., 

 II., III., IV., V., and VI. belong to Group A, and VII. and VIII. 

 to Group B. Group A have a rapid twisting flight, and are able 

 to skid for a great distance with but a few blows of the wings to 

 gain impetus. Group B have a heavy flapping flight, which is 

 sufficiently accounted for by the short and ample character of 

 the wings. The illustrations (Plate IV., a, b\ show the wings of 



