CHARADRIIFORMES. 467 



eleven primary remiges, a V-shaped furcula, and two carotids. They are 

 aquintocubital. They fall into four groups, the Limicolae, the Lari, the 

 Pterocles and the Columbae. 



Group 1. Limicolae. 



The Limicolae are typically waders and good flyers. They are not, as 

 a rule, habitual swimmers. The young are praecoces. 



Fam. Charadriidae. Plovers, etc. They usually lay four spotted eggs. 

 About 100 species ; cosmopolitan. 



Sub-fam. 1. Charadriinae. Premaxillary part of the beak hard. Eu- 

 dromias morinellus L., the dotterel, Europe. Charadrius pluvialis L., 

 the golden plover. Aegialitis hiaticola L., the ringed plover. Ana- 

 rhynchus frontalis Q. and G., the wry-bill of N. Zealand. Vanellus L., 

 lapwings ; V. cristatus Mey., the lapwing, peewit or green plover.* 

 Strepsilas interpres L., the turnstone. Haematopus ostralegus L., 

 the oyster-catcher. Himantopus Barr., the stilts. Recurvirostra 

 avocetta L., the avocet. 



Sub-fam. 2. Tringinae. Premaxillary part of the beak soft and 

 covered with a richly innervated skin ; beak long, narrow, weak. 

 Phalaropus fulicarius L., the grey phalarope. Tringa alpina, the 

 dunlin. Totanus calidris L., the redshank ; T. (Actitis) hypoleucus 

 Temm., the sandpiper. Machetes pugnax Cuv., the ruff. Limosa 

 Briss., the godwits. Numenius arquata L., the curlew. 



Sub-fam. 3. Scolopacinae. The beak is long, and its premaxillary 

 part is soft, covered by a richly innervated skin, and somewhat 

 swollen. Scolopax rusticula L., the woodcock. Gallinago caelestis 

 L., the common snipe ; G. gallinula L., the jack snipe. 

 Fam. Chionididae. Sheathbills. Antarctic Seas. 



Fam. Glareolidae. With Glareola, the pratincole ; Cursorius, Pluvianus. 

 Fam. Dromadidae. Dramas. 

 Fam. Thinocoridae. With Thinocorys, Attagis. 



Fam. Oedicnemidae. Without the hind toe. Oedicnemus scolopax 

 Gm. (crepitans Tern.), the stone-curlew. 



Fam. Parridae. Long-toed jacanas, with Parra, Hydrophasianus, etc. 



Group 2. Lari. 



The Lari are typically swimmers and good flyers. The anterior toes 

 have swimming membranes. Hallux small or absent. Mainly pisci- 

 vorous. Young covered with down when hatched, but remaining for 

 some time in the nest and fed by the parents. 



Fam. Laridae. Wings long and pointed, praecoces. The sexes are 

 similar. 



Sub-fam. 1. Larinae. Gulls and skuas. Beak usually shorter than 

 the head. About 50 species, cosmopolitan, mainly marine. Ster- 

 corarius pomatorhimis, the pomatorhine skua ; Megalestris catarractes 

 L., the great skua. Eissa tridactyla L., the kittiwake. Larus L., 

 gulls. 



* Often served by cooks of a certain class as golden plovers. Diners 

 who are unable to distinguish between the two by the coarser flavour of 

 the lapwing, may do so by means of the sternum. In the golden plover 

 there are two emarginations on each side of the posterior end of this bone ; 

 in the lapwing the inner of these is bridged so as to become a fenestration. 



