M .................. 



V The grey-brown Austrian Pratincole (^°) strutted 

 ■ along; 



The shrew'd Oyster-catcher (^*) made one of the 

 throng ; 



(3«) Order, Grall^, (Lath.) Pratincole, the Austrian, 

 the Senegal, the Spotted. 

 The g-^MUs Glareola, (Lath.) or Pratincole, consists of 

 seven species ; they have a strong, stout, straight bill, hooked 

 at the tip ; nostrils at the base of the bill linear, oblique; gape 

 of the mouth large; feet fonr-toed ; toes long, slender, connected 

 at the base by a membrane ; tail forked. The following are the 

 chief: the Austriaaty or Austrian Pratincole, is above grey- 

 brown, collar black ; chin and throat white ; breast and belly 

 reddish grey ; about nine inches long. Four other varieties ; 

 three inhabit the heaths of Europe, near the banks of rivers ; 

 two found on the coast of Coromandel. Feeds on worms and 

 aquatic insects ; is very noisy and clamorous. The Sencgalensis, 

 or Senegal Pratincole, is entirely brown ; nine and a half 

 inches long ; found in Senegal and Siberia. The Ncevia, or 

 Spotted Pratincole, is brown spotted with white; size of 

 the Austriaca ; inhabits Germany. 



(31) Order, Grall^, (Linn.) Oyster-Catcher. 

 The genus H^matopus, (Linn.) or Oyster-Catcher, con- 

 sists of four species, of which the OstralgeuSf Sea-Pie, Oyster- 

 Catcher, Pied Oyster-Catcher, Pienet, or OlivCy is the 

 chief. It has a compressed bill, the tip an equal wedge ; 

 nostril linear ; tongue a third part of the length of the bill ; 

 feet formed for running; toes three, no back toe ; body some- 

 times totally black : frequently head, neck, and body, above 

 black, beneath white; inhabits almost every shore; common on 

 the sea coasts of this country ; about sixteen inches long; feeds 

 on marine worms and insects, but chiefly on oysters and limpets, 

 whicli it obtains from the shells with great dexterity. It makes 



