574 STRUCTURAL CHARACTERS 



rounded in contour ; 3rd and 4th ( = 9th and 8th) primaries longest ; head crested. 



(Vol. iii. p. 325.) 

 (/) Genus Strepsilas. Beak short, tapering to a point, nostrils pervious ; outermost 



(10th) primary longest ; legs short, front toes connected at the base by a web ; 



lower end of acrotarsium scutellated ; planta reticulated. (Vol. iii. p. 389.) 

 (g) Genus Hcematopus. Beak long, laterally compressed, very dense, truncated at the 



tip; upper jaw with a deep lateral groove; nostrils linear, opening near the base 



of the beak ; podotheca reticulated. (Vol. iii. p. 387.) 

 (h) Genus Recurvirostra. Beak very long, recurved, tapering to a delicate point ; toes 



semi-palmated ; hallux present. (Vol. iii. p. 413.) 

 (i) Genus Himantopus. Beak long, slender, cylindrical, slightly recurved ; legs 



excessively long; middle and outer toes connected by a small web; hind-toe 



wanting. (Vol. iv. p. 517.) 

 (k) Genus Pelidna. 1 Beak sub-cylindrical, soft, more or less laterally compressed, and 



slightly decurved ; nostrils linear, pervious at the base of the beak, which is later- 

 ally grooved ; tarso-metatarsus slender, scutellated ; toes free and long. (Vol. iii. 



p. 421.) 

 (1) Genus Ereunetes. Differs from Pelidna in having the front toes united at the 



base by a well-defined web. (Vol. iv. p. 521.) 

 (m) Genus Canutus? (Vol. iii. p. 430.) 

 (n) Genus Calidris. Legs short, no hind-toe, front toes not united by a basal web. 



(Vol. iii. p. 433.) 

 (o) Genus Totanus. 3 Legs relatively long, toes partially webbed, tarso-metatarsus 



scutellated before and behind. (Vol. iii. p. 438.) 

 (p) Genus Limosa. Beak long, slightly recurved ; wings long and pointed, projecting 



beyond the end of the tail ; outer and middle toes united by a web. (Vol. iii. p. 450.) 

 (q) Genus Macrorhamphus. Beak long, straight, slightly dilated at the tip ; wings 



long ; outer and middle toe united by membrane. (Vol. iv. p. 525.) 

 (r) Genus Numenius. Beak long, decurved ; toes semi-palmated ; planta reticulated. 



(Vol. iii. p. 454.) 



IV 



ORDER : GRUIFORMES 



Schizognathous, holorhinal ; basipterygoids wanting ; no spina interna ; aftershaft small, 

 diastataxic ; caeca functional ; young nidifugous ; wing diastataxic or eutaxic. 



1. FAMILY GRUIDJE CRANES. 



Oil-gland tufted ; aftershaft present ; diastataxic ; with the heel of the sternum hollowed out 

 to receive the convolutions of the trachea. Hind- toe relatively small, placed above the 

 level of the front toes, which are not webbed at the base. 



(a) Genus Grus. Nostrils in a groove, pervious, near the middle of the beak; crown 

 of head covered with black bristle-like feathers, occiput bar covered with a patch 

 of red carunculated skin ; innermost secondaries greatly elongated. 



1 The characters fabricated for the genus Limicola, created to receive the broadbilled-sandpiper (Rare Birds, vol. 

 iv. p. 518), are so trivial that this species must be included in the genus Pelidna, a name which has unwarrantably, in 

 my opinion, ousted that of Tringa. 



2 The characters on which the genus Canutus is based are too trivial to be recognised. It must be relegated to 

 that of Pelidna = Tringa. 



3 The genus Totanus must be made to include that of Machetes, and should properly also include Limosa and 

 Macrorhamphut, which are divided only by ridiculously trivial characters. 



