^86 AVES. 



Fitlica atra. — The Common Coot Plate xxx*. fig. 3. Described, vol. iii. 

 \>. 359. 



Genus 2— VODO A.— Illiger. 



Generic Character. — Bill as lon^ as the head, straight, cylindrical, pointed ; 

 ridge distinct, reaching three quarters the length of the bill; upper mandi. 

 ble with a small notch at its tip ; nostrils lateral, oblong, situated near the 

 rentre of the bill; legs short, strong, placed far back ; tarsus rounded ; three 

 anterior toes, with a scalloped membrane at their edges; liallux short, 

 cails long, bent ; wings of medium length, second and third quills longest. 



Podoa Senegalensis. — The Senegal Podoa. Plate xlii*. fig. 6. Crown, nape, 

 back of the neck, back, wings, and tail, brownish ash-coloured, spotted «ith 

 white ; under parts white, transversely barred with dark brown ; throat 

 a>h-bro\vn, spotted with white ; tail long ; bill and legs orange ; irides yel- 

 low. Twenty inches long. Inhabits Senegal. 



Genus 3.— PHALAROPUS.— ^rawre. 



Generic Character. — Bill long, slender, weak, slightly curved, depressed 

 at the base ; both mandibles channelled at the point, the upper obtuse, bent 

 down at its tip on the lower one ; point of the' under mandible subulate ; 

 nostrils basal, linear, and placed in the groove ; legs of medium length ; three 

 anterior toes connected by scalloped and serrated membranes ; hallux small, 

 weak, and articulated on the tarsus considerably above the toes, the nail 

 touching the ground ; wings long, first and second quills longest. 



Section L — BUI slender, depressed at the base, and subulate at the point. 



Phalaropus hyperboreus. — The Red Phalarope. Plate xxxv. fig. 10. 

 Crown of the head and back gray ; wings brown ash-colour ; scapulars fer. 

 ruginous, tipped with gray ; a black belt extends from the ophthalmic region 

 along the side of the neck, with a ferruginous patch at its base ; breast 

 cream-yellow ; chin, throat, abdomen, and crissum, white ; irides reddish 

 brown ; bill and legs steel-gray. Eight and a half inches long. Inhabits the 

 United States. 



Section II.— Bill depressed through its whole extent, and compressed at 

 the tip. 



Phalaropus plalyrhynchus. — The Gray Phalarope. Plate xlv. fig. 4. 

 Ash-coloured above, with a black fillet on the nape, and a transverse white 

 band on the wings ; middle of the back brown ; upper mandible horn-coloiir, 

 lower one orange at the base ; a black patch under the eyes ; legs black. 

 Eight inches long. Inhabits Europe. 



Genus 4— POD ICEPS.— iaiAam. 

 Generic Character. — Bill of medium size, the length of the head, hard, 

 compressed, conical, and pointed ; tip of upper mandible with aslight slope ; 

 nostrils oblong, ovate, lateral, concave, situated in the middle of the bill, 

 open in front, and closed behind by a membrane, and pervious ; legs placed 

 very far back ; tibia partly concealed in the venter ; tarsns greatly com. 

 pressed ; anterior toes much depressed, flattened at the base, united by a 

 membrane ; the hallux short, placed high on tlie tarsus ; toes provided with 

 flat, oblique, depressed, nails ; wings of medium length, first, second, and 

 third quills the longest; destitute of a tail. 



