256 ORALLY. CHARADRIAD^E. 



sent some resemblance to that of a Pigeon. The 

 nostrils are pierced in a long groove. 



The colours of the Plovers are not showy, but 

 are chaste and beautiful : various shades of brown, 

 mingled with ochraceous tints, and diversified 

 with white and black, frequently disposed in 

 bands, may be considered as most prevalent among 

 them. The plumage is generally subject to peri- 

 odical changes ; a gayer and more varied dress 

 being assumed for the nuptial season, than that 

 displayed in winter. Many of them are active 

 during the night ; they feed on worms, slugs, &c. 

 The species are scattered over the whole globe. 

 / ' 



GENUS VANELLUS. (BRiss.) 



The Lapwings are distinguished by having the 

 beak straight, slightly compressed; the tips of 

 both mandibles smooth and hard ; the groove of 

 the nostrils wide, deep, and reaching to the swollen 

 part of the beak ; the nostril pierced in the middle 

 of it ; the wings ample, more or less rounded ; 

 fourth and fifth quills longest; the shoulder armed 

 with a spur ; the feet slender, the tarsal plates 

 taking a net-work form ; the toes united at the 

 base by a small membrane ; a minute hind toe, 

 jointed on the tarsus. They inhabit the Old 

 World ; breed inland ; associate in flocks, which 

 are very clamorous when their haunts are ap- 

 proached in the breeding season. At the approach 

 of winter they migrate to the seaside, when they 

 appear in a different condition of plumage. 



The common Lapwing or Peewit (Vanellus 

 cristatus, MEYER) is one of the most beautiful of 

 the Plovers. In its nuptial plumage, the crown, 



