288 BIRDS. GRALLATOBKS. 



dibles gibbous towards the tip ; nostrils longitudinally cleft 

 in the large membrane which covers the nasal furrow ; legs 

 slender, with three toes before, the outer connected to the 

 middle one by a short membrane, and the inner divided ; 

 tail slightly rounded or even ; wings middle-sized, the second 

 quill-feather longest. 



Plovers frequent watery situations, the marshy banks of rivers, or the sea-shore, 

 and feed on small worms and aquatic insects. The greater part of them live in 

 little bands, and migrate in flocks more or less numerous, the old preceding the 

 young in these annual journeys. Some foreign species have spurs on the wings, and 

 many have fleshy excrescences on the head or mandibles. 



C. pluvialis, Lin. Golden or Green Plover. Upper parts of the 

 body, wings, and tail sooty black, marked with spots of golden 

 yellow on the margins of the webs. 10J inches long. Inhabits 

 Europe, B. Shaw, xi. pi. 34. 



C. morinellus, Lin. The Dottrel. Top of the head and occiput 

 blackish ash-colour ; eye-brows reddish white, uniting on the oc- 

 ciput ; upper parts blackish ash-colour, tinged with greenish ; 

 breast and flanks with a reddish tinge ; a line on the breast, and 

 the middle of the belly white ; tail terminated with white. In- 

 habits Europe, B Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. pi. 73. 



C. hiaticula, Lin. (C. torquatus, Leach.) Ringed Plover. Gray- 

 brown above, white beneath j breast black ; forehead dusky, with 

 a white stripe ; crown of the head brown ; bill three-fourths 

 orange red, tip black ; legs orange. 7 inches long. Inhabits 

 Europe. Lenin's Brit. Birds, v. pi. 184. 



C. minor, Meyer. Occiput and upper parts gray brown, under parts 

 white ; frontal band, and a line on the breast black ; bill entirely 

 black; legs yellow. Inhabits Europe. Tern. Man. 542. 



C. Cantianus, Lath. The Kentish Plover. Head and neck of a 

 bright red ; upper parts brown gray ; two large black or brown 

 spaces on the sides of the breast ; quill-feathers with white shafts ; 

 bill and feet black. 6^ inches long. Inhabits Europe, B. 

 Lewin's Brit. Birds, pi. 185. 



C. nigrifrons, Tern. Reddish brown, longitudinally striped with 

 white ; beneath white ; with the forehead, a stripe on the crown, 

 and another behind the eyes, and a band on the breast black. 6 

 inches long. Inhabits New Holland Tern. PI. Col. 4J y fig. 1. 



FAMILY II With four toes. 

 Gen. 7. VANELLUS, Briss. Trmga, Lin. Squatarola, Cuv. 



Bill short, slender, straight, compressed, tip gibbous ; nostrils 

 lateral, longitudinally cleft ; legs slender, with three toes be- 

 fore and one behind, the middle toe connected with the outer 

 by a short membrane, and the hinder one almost obliterated, 

 or very short, not touching the ground ; wings elongated. 



In some of the foreign species the base of the wing is armed with a long and 

 sharp spur, and a few have wattles or a crest. The two indigenous species undergo 



