450 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



occurs commonly on the Continent, where it is often semi- 

 domesticated. 



The Spoonbills (Ptataleadtz) are also large birds, very like 

 the Storks, but the bill is flattened out so as to form a broad 

 spoon-like plate. The common White Spoonbill (Platalea 

 leucorodia) is found commonly on the Continent, but is of very 

 rare occurrence in Britain. 



Fam. 3. Longirostres. The third family of Waders is that 

 of the Longirostres, characterised by the possession of long, 

 slender, soft bills, grooved for the perforations of the nostrils 

 (fig. 174, B). The legs are sometimes rather short, sometimes 

 of great length; the toes are of moderate length, and the 

 hallux is usually short, and is sometimes absent. The bill in 

 these birds serves as an organ of touch, being used as a kind^ 

 of probe to feel for food in mud or marshy soil. To fulfil this 

 purpose, the tip of the bill is furnished with numerous filaments 

 of the fifth nerve. They feed mostly upon insects and worms, 

 and are not strictly aquatic in their habits, mostly frequenting 

 marshy districts, moors, fens, the banks of rivers or lakes, or 

 the shores of the sea. 



In this family of the Long-billed Waders are the Snipes 

 (Scolopatidce), the Sandpipers (Tringidce), the Curlews (Nu- 

 menius), the Ruffs, Godwits, Turnstones, Avocet, and many 

 others which need no particular notice. 



Fam. 4. Pressirostres. The members of this family are 

 characterised by the moderate length of the bill, which is 

 seldom longer than the head, and has a compressed tip. The 

 legs are long, but the toes are short, and are almost always 

 partially connected together at their bases by membrane. The 

 hallux is short, and is often wanting. In this section are two 

 very distinct sub-families, the Charadriidce. or Plovers and the 

 Otidce or Bustards. In the former of these the legs are long 

 and slender, the toes are united at their bases by a small 

 membrane, and the hind-toe is very small and raised above 

 the ground, or is entirely wanting. In this group are the true 

 Plovers and Lapwings, the Oyster-catcher (Hamatopus\ and 

 the Thick-knee (CEdicnemits). In the Otidce, or Bustards, the 

 legs are long and the toes are short and furnished with stout 

 claws. The hinder toe or hallux is entirely wanting; and these 

 birds are chiefly interesting from the affinities which they 

 exhibit to the Rasores on the one hand, and to the Cursores 

 (Ostrich, &c.) on the other. The wings, however, are of 

 ample size, and the tail is long, the reverse being the case in 

 the Cursores. The Bustards are entirely confined to the Old 

 World, and two species were formerly not uncommon in Britain. 



