S6 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[PlIAIM-ROPKa. 



in every quarter of the globe. The nresent »peciei 

 only occasionally occur* within the liiitish I»iand(, 

 and i« equally ncarce and accidental in its visits in 

 Holland and the northern parts of Europe. It is 

 esjientially a native of the eastern parts of Europe, 

 whence it is spread throughout Asia to Japan, in- 

 cludiu'.; India and the Indian Islands and also from 

 the north to the south of Africa. Accordiusj to the 

 Prince of Canino. the two species found in America 

 are l)olh distinct, and Mr. Gould has described the 

 tpecies found in Australia and Java as different, 

 under the title of II. leucocephalus. 



"The Loni;-lei:ged I'lover, as its conformation 

 would lead 111 to conclude, is a bird whose most 

 congenial habitat i> morasses and the low flat shores 

 of lakes, livers, and seas. Hence in the eastern 

 portions of Europe, »vhere it is said to arrive from 

 Asia in small flocks, it takes up its abode along the 

 lakes and amon^ the vast morasses of Hunj^aiy and 

 Russia, where, according to M. Temminck, it rears 

 its progeny, and where it fearlessly wades in search 

 of its food, without much chance of its being carried 

 out of its depth ; but should such an occurrence 

 happen, or the waves diill it out from the shore, it 

 possesses, like many of the true Wading Birds, the 

 power of swimming with great ease and lightness. 

 Few birds exceed it in the powcis of flight ; its 

 wings far exceed the tail, and it passes through 

 the air with astonishing rapidity. When on firm 

 ground, it appears as if tottering on long and awk- 

 ward stilts, but firm ground is not its congenial 

 habitat." (Gould, ' Birds of Kurope.') 



In the last part of his ' Manuel ' M. Temminck 

 states that this bird makes its nest upon a little 

 eminence constructed in the marshes, laying four 

 eggs of a tarnished green colour, marked with 

 numerous ashy spots, and with moderate and very 

 small reddish brown spots. In this species the 

 cheeks, neck, and all the lower parts are white, with 

 a roseate tinge ; the occiput, back of the neck, and 

 upper parts black glossed with green ; the very old 

 in»le has the occiput and back of the neck varied 

 with white, sometimes quite white : bill black ; iris 

 crimson ; legs vermilion. Length of head and body 

 fourteen inches. 



1869. — The Mexic.w Stilt-Plover 



{Hinumtopus Mexicamis). This species arrives on 

 the sea-coast of New Jersey in small flocks about the 

 2.">th of April; these subdivide into smaller parties, 

 and settle together among the salt marshes, at some 

 distance inland, where the sheet of water is broken 

 into numerous shallow pools, through which they 

 can wade in every direction, and which are not 

 usually oveiflowed by the tides during summer. 

 They feed upon minute shell-fish, insects, Crustacea, 

 &c. In the vicinity of these pools, six or eight 

 pairs make their nests close together, forming them 

 of grass, on which they deposit their eggs, but 

 during the progress of incubation they add fresh 

 materials, as twi^, seaweed, and the roots of grass, 

 80 as to elevate the platform previously constructed, 

 which often weighs between two and three pounds. 

 The eggs, four in number, are of a dark yellowish 

 clay colour, thickly blotched with black. On the 

 approach of an intruder, the males, who are roaming 

 through the neighlwuring mareh, rise in the air, 

 flying with their long legs extended behind them, 

 and keep up a perpetual yelping note of click, 

 click, click, then alighting, they stand on half-bent 

 trembling legs, with drooping quivering wings, 

 uttering a purring sound, and seeming as if they 

 balanced themselves with difiiculty. This is done to 

 draw off attention from the nests to themselves, and 

 the avocet practises the same "ruse." Both also 

 occasionally swim when they lose their depth in 

 wading ; and when wounded, they attempt to escape 

 by diving, which, however, is not veiy expertly 

 managed. They depart early in September, visiting 

 Jamaica and the warmer parts of the American 

 coast. In this species the bill is slightly curved 

 upwards (not so much as that of the avocet^ and 

 tapers to a fine point ; the outer toe is connected to 

 the middle by a broad membrane, as also in the 

 European species, which has the bill straight, slender 

 and channelled. Back of the head and neck, back, 

 and wings, black glossed with green ; the remainder 

 of the plumage white ; legs fine pale carmine ; bill 

 black. 



1870.— The Palmated Stilt-Plover 

 {Cladorbynchua peclornlis). The genus Cladorhyn- 

 chus differs from Himantopus chiefly in the cir- 

 cumstance of all the fore-toes being connected toge- 

 ther by partial webs. This species, which was 

 difcovered by Mr. Gould in Southern and Western 

 Australia and Roltnest Island, resembles the com- 

 mon stilt-plover in its general habits. The body is 

 white ; the breast being crossed bv a band of chest- 

 nut bordered anteriorly with black ; wings and 

 centre of abdomen black. In some specimens, pre- 

 sumed females, the pectoral band was greyish brown 

 instead of chestnut, and in others the pectoral band 



was apparently disappearing; from which it is to be 

 inferred that this mark exists only during the breed- 

 ing season. 



1871. — Thk Avockt 



(Hecvrrirostra Avocettd). In the genus Recurvi- 

 rostra the bill is long, slender, tapering, depressed, 

 and bending upwards at the tip, which is very flex- 

 ible ; legs long and slender, and the three anterior 

 toes united for nearly the whole of their length by 

 a scolloped membrane. 



The avocet is widely diffused through temperate 

 Europe. It is found in Siberia, on the shores of the 

 Caspian, about the .«ialt lakes of Tartary, and also 

 in tgypt, and other parts of Africa. In our island 

 these birds are not uncommon along the eastern 

 coast, south of the Humber, and breed in the fenny 

 parts of Lincolnshire, and also in Uomney Marsh in 

 Kent. Tliey are very rare in the north of England 

 and Scotland. They abound in Holland. During 

 the winter the avocet assembles in small flocks, fre- 

 quenting muddy flat shores and the mouths of rivei-s, 

 feeding upon marine insects, minute Crustacea, and 

 shell-fish, in quest of which it wades in the shallows, 

 only swimming when unexpectedly out of its depth. 

 Its slender, recurved, elastic beak, resembling whale- 

 bone, by no means organized as a feeler for plung- 

 ing into the mud, enables it to scoop up from the 

 surface of the slimy ooze the minute insects or 

 worms on which it feeds: during Ibis operation it 

 appears as if it were incessantly beating the mud 

 with its beak. Its actions are all quick and lively, 

 and its flight is rapid and vigorous. During the 

 summer the avocets are scattered in pairs over the 

 fens and saline marshes, and select a dry spot on 

 which to breed. The nest is merely a slight depres- 

 sion, sheltered by such herbage as the morass affords. 

 The eggs are greenish, spotted with black. When 

 disturbed during incubation, or while guarding their 

 down-covered young, they fly round the intruder in 

 circles, uttering without intermission their peculiar 

 cry twit-ltcit, twit-twit, and, like the stilt-plover, will 

 feign lameness, and crouch on trembling limbs, in 

 order to decoy the object of their fear to a distance. 

 The avocet is a beautiful bird ; its general plumage 

 is white, with the exception of the head, and back of 

 the neck, the middle wing-coverts, and greater quill- 

 feathers, which are black ; bill black ; legs bluish 

 grey. The toes, which are webbed, give the bird 

 superior advantage in traversing the soft ooze in 

 search of food. Length eighteen inches. 



Family PHALAROPID^E (PIIALAROPES). 



The family Phalaropidao is established by the Prince 

 of Canino for the Phalaropes and their immediate 

 allies, Lobipes and Holopodius — birds endowed with 

 great powers of swimming, and often seen upon the 

 surface of the ocean, even amidst the roughest 

 waves. The plumage is thick and closely set, and the 

 toes, besides being united together at the base by a 

 web, are bordered by acontinuation of the membrane, 

 so as to make the feet efficient paddles. Their moult 

 is double ; their habitat the arctic and temperate 

 latitudes. They fly with strength and swiftness. 



1872, 1873, 1874.— The Grey Phalarope 



( Phnlarojnis platyrhytichus). Ph. lobatus, Flem. and 

 Latham ; Ph. griseus, Stephens ; Phalaropus rul'es- 

 cens, Briss ; Red Phalarope, Latham ; Plain Phala- 

 rope, ' Arctic Zoology ;' Grey Phalarope, Selby ; Ph. 

 fulicarius, Bonap., Wil.son. 



The bill in the genus Phalaropus is rather long, 

 weak, and slender ; flattened, and wide at tiie base, 

 furrowed to the point. The tarsi are slender, and 

 compressed laterally. The three anterior toes are 

 united up to the firet joint, and bordered with fes- 

 tooned membranes dentelated on the edges. Hind- 

 toeswithoutamembrane. Wings moderate. Fig. 1872 

 represents the Bill and Foot of Phalaropus hyperbo- 

 reus (Lobipes hyperboreus, Cuv.). 



The grey phalarope is a native of the regions 

 European, Asiatic, and American, within the Arctic 

 circle, whence in autumn it migrates southwards, 

 visiting temperate Europe, the British Island, the 

 great lakes of Asia, and the Caspian Sea. Its food 

 coftsists of aquatic insects, and especially those 

 which live on the surface of the water, saline or 

 fresh, in quest of which it swims with great address, 

 and may be watched while engaged in this occupa- 

 tion displaying a thousand graceful attitudes and 

 manoeuvres. It not only frequents the shore, and 

 the bays, creeks, and inlets of our island during the 

 winter, but also mill-dams, large pools, and even 

 farm-yard ponds, readily allowing itself to be ap- 

 proached, unsuspicious of danger. On the land the 

 phalarope is less active and alert than the sand- 

 pipers (Tringae), with which it was associated by 

 Linnffus. Major Sabine, in his memoir on the 

 ' Birds of Greenland," states, that a number of these 

 phalaropes were seen on the 10th of June, in the 

 G8th degree of latitude (where the species breeds), 

 at a distance of four thousand miles from land, 

 swimming about in the midst of icebergs ; and, re- 



ferring to this account, M. Temminck observes that 

 he cannot see why this bird, with such habits, and 

 such a form as it presents, should be associated with 

 the snipes and sandpipers (Chevaliers). The eggs 

 of this species are greenish ash, spotted and dotted 

 with black. 



Summer Plumage (Fig. 1873) • — Head, nape, back, 

 scapulars, and other coverts of the tail blackish 

 brown ; all the feathers of these parts are surrounded 

 by a wide red-orange border; a yellowish band 

 passes above the eyes ; wing-covcrls blackish, ter- 

 minated with white; a transverse white band on the 

 wing; rump white, spotted with black ; Iront of the 

 neck, breast, belly, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts 

 brick-red. 



\yinter Plumage (Fig. 1874) :— Top of the head, 

 occiput, and nape pure ash-colour ; a large spot of 

 ashy-black on the orifice of the ears; two bands of 

 the same colour take their origin towards the eyes, 

 and pass ujwn the occiput, where they form a single 

 band, which descends the whole length of the nape ; 

 lateral parts of the breast, back, scapulars, and rump 

 very pure bluish ash ; blackish occupies the centre 

 of all these feathere, and is directed along the shafts; 

 the longest of the scapulare terminated with white ; 

 a transvei'sal white band on the wing; tail-feathers 

 brown, bordered with ash-colour; front, sides of the 

 neck, middle of the breast, and all the other lower 

 parts pure white ; bill yellowish red at its base, 

 brown townrds the point ; iris reddish yellow ; feet " 

 greenish ash. Lengih above eight inches. 



Family RALLID^ (RAILS and COOTS). 



This family consists of several groups of birds, 

 mostly of aquatic or semi-aquatic habits, Irom the 

 diving and swimming coot to the terrestrial land- 

 rail, and exhibiting certain modifications of form 

 according to the nature of the locality tenanted, 

 viz., lake, morass, or meadow. In general the con- 

 tour of the body is narrow and compressed. The 

 Rallidae have to thread their way through beds of 

 the thick-set stems of reeds, bulrushes, and other 

 aquatic plants, among which they seek shelter and 

 concealnient,ur, asin the case of the landrail, through 

 the tall grass of the meadow, and that so rapidly 

 and noiselessly, that the field seems traversed by 

 magic : hent-e they elude pursuit with great ease, 

 and can seldom be forced to take wing. In all, the 

 toes are long and spreading, giving them the facility 

 of passing over soil ooze, or even the flat leaves of 

 the water-lily, which float in close array on the 

 surface of the water. The beak is generally strong, 

 often remarkably so ; but in this respect there is 

 much variation. 



1873.i-THE Coot 



(_Fulica atra). Foulque, Macroule, or Morrelle of 

 the French ; Schvvarzes Wasserhuhn of the Ger- 

 mans ; Meir Koet of the Netherlanders ; Folaga and 

 Folacra of the Italians ; Jar ddwfr foel of the 

 Welsh. 



In the genus Fulica the bill is strong, straight, 

 subconical, and compressed, and the base of the 

 upper mandible is carried upon the forehead in the 

 form of a broad expanded plate. The feet are lai^ge, 

 and the toes are margined by lobated membranes. 

 Plumage full and deep. 



The coot is very generally spread over temperate 

 Europe, and is particularly abundant in Holland. 

 In our island it is common, frequenting large sheets 

 of water, especially such as are surrounded with a 

 broad belt of reeds and tall luxuriant aquatic 

 plants, forming a dense covert for concealment. It 

 swims and dives with the utmost address, nor is it 

 inactive on land, and may be often seen early in the 

 morning in humid low meadows adjacent to the 

 water, wandering in search of slugs, worms, and 

 insects, which, with aquatic larvai, snails, and the 

 fry of fishes, &c., constitute its food. When winter 

 sets in severely, and the inland waters are I'rozen, 

 it journeys to the more southern districts of our 

 island, visiting saline marshes, arms and inlets of 

 the sea, and the mouths of rivers, as the South- 

 ampton water, where numbers congregate during 

 the inclement season, and may be seen crowding the 

 mud flats. The nest of the coot is a huge mass of 

 grass, flags, and other herbage, sometimes situated 

 among the reeds near the water's edge, at other 

 times absolutely within the margin of the water, 

 and rising above its surlace to the height of eight or 

 ten inches. The author of the ' British Oology ' 

 describes these nests as clumsy, but amazingly soud 

 and compact. "So firm," he says, "are some of 

 them, that whilst up to my knees in water they 

 afforded me a seat sufficiently strong to support my 

 weight." From the nature of the materials com- 

 posing the nest, conjoined with its situation, it not 

 unfrequently happens that it is torn from its moor- 

 ings by floods and carried down the current ; and 

 instances have been known of such occurrences 

 taking place, the female continuing to sit upon her 

 eggs, which remained uninjured. 



The eggs, from seven to ten in number, are of a 



