VERTEBRATA: AVES. 609 



with four elongated, sometimes lobate, toes, and the wings are 

 of moderate or less than average size. In many of their char- 

 acters a considerable number of the birds of this family ap- 

 proach the Rasorial birds, and differ from the true Waders. 

 The beak is mostly short, rarely longer than the head, and is 

 compressed from side to side, or wedge-shaped. The legs are 

 strong and not particularly lengthy ; but the toes are often of 

 great length, and are furnished with long claws. The neck is 

 not very long, and the tail is very short. Some of them are 

 strictly aquatic in their habits, and, like the Coots, approach 

 in many respects to the Natatores; others, again, are exclusively 

 terrestrial. The most familiar members of this family are the 

 Rails (Rallus], Water-hens (Gallinula), the Coots (Fulica), 

 and the Jacana (Parra jacana). The Water-hens and Coots 

 are aquatic or semi-aquatic, swimming and diving with great 

 ease. In the Coots the toes are semi-palmate, being bordered 

 by membranous lobes, like the toes of the Grebes, but the 

 toes are not fringed in the Gallinules. Amongst the Coots 

 should probably be placed the Notornis (Owen), long supposed 

 to be extinct, but recently proved to be still living in the 

 Middle Island of New Zealand. The Notornis is much larger 

 than the ordinary Coots, and is remarkable in the fact that, 

 like many extinct and some living New Zealand birds, the 

 wings are so rudimentary as to be useless for flight. The true 

 Rails, comprising the common Water-rail (Rallus aquaticus], 

 and the Land- rail or Corn-crake ( Crex pratensis) of Britain, 

 and the Marsh-hen (Rallus elegans), and Virginian Rail (R. 

 Virginianus) of North America, live almost exclusively on 

 land, though the first of these usually frequents damp or marshy 

 places. In the Jacanas, lastly, the feet are furnished with 

 excessively long and slender toes, which enable the bird to 

 run about upon the leaves of aquatic plants; whilst the carpus 

 is armed with formidable spurs. They are natives of South 

 America, Africa, and India. Closely allied to the Jacanas 

 are the Screamers (Palamedea) of South America, of which the 

 Horned Screamer (P. cornuta) is the best known. It has a 

 long frontal horn, and has spurs implanted on the edge of the 

 wing. 



JFam. 2. Cultirostres. In this family of the Grallatores are 

 some of the most typical and familiar forms contained in the 

 entire order. The bill in this family is long usually longer 

 than the head and is compressed from side to side ; the legs 

 are long and slender, having a considerable portion of the 

 tibiae unfeathered ; and the feet have four toes, which are 

 usually connected to a greater or less extent at their bases by 



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