2250 PLOVERS, SANDPIPERS, SNIPE, J AC AN AS, GULLS 



instances where the female is superior in size and brilliancy of coloration to her lord 

 and master. The reason for such a total change in the relations of the two sexes 

 remains, however, a complete mystery. 



The three members of this group in which the first toe remains are the Falkland 

 island dotterel (C. modestus}, the Magellanic plover (C. sociabilis), and the Aus- 

 tralian four-toed dotterel (C. rufiventris] . 



Closely allied to the plovers are the birds commonly known as lap- 

 wings or green plovers, some of the distinctive features of which have 

 been already noticed on p. 2245. These birds differ from the plovers in having at 

 least the basal third of the middle pair of tail feathers white; by the wings, which 



COMMON I.APWING. 



(One-third natural size.) 



may or may not be armed with a spur, being blunt, with the first and second quills 

 shorter than the third and fourth, which are of nearly equal length, and by the front 

 of the metatursus being covered with large scutes, instead of small reticulated scales. 

 The head is often provided with a crest. 



The first toe may or may not be present, and the presence or absence of 

 that toe affords grounds for dividing the group into two sections, which some 

 writers (whom we follow) consider worthy of generic distinction; the four-toed 

 types being termed Vanellus, while those with but three toes are designated 

 Hoplopterus. About fourteen species of lapwings are generally recognized, these 



