92 TOTANIN^E. TOTANUS. 



flies with great speed, vibrates its body continually when 

 standing, and is remarkably vociferous, shy, and ready to take 

 alarm, as well as to spread it among the birds around. 



Greenshank. Greenshank Snipe. Green-legged Horse- 

 man. 



Scolopax Glottis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 245. Scolopax Glot- 

 tis, Lath. Ind. Ornith. ii. 720. Totanus Glottis, Temm. 

 Man. d'Ornith. ii. 659. Glottis Chloropus, Green-legged 

 Longshank, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iv. 



GENUS CIV. TOTANUS. TATTLER. 



The Tattlers differ from the Longshanks chiefly in having 

 the bill and legs considerably shorter, and the former quite 

 straight. The body is ovate, rather slender ; the neck ra- 

 ther long, and slender ; the head small, oblong, compressed, 

 with the forehead considerably rounded. Bill about a third 

 longer than the head, straight, very slender, soft and flexible 

 at the base, hard and elastic toward the end ; upper man- 

 dible with the ridge convex, the sides grooved to beyond 

 the middle, the edges thick, with a linear groove, the tip 

 slightly declinate, narrowed, blunt, and a little exceeding 

 the other ; lower mandible with the angle long and extremely 

 narrow, the sides grooved to the middle, the dorsal line 

 straight, or very slightly concave, the edges thick and 

 grooved, the tip narrowed, and a little obtuse. Mouth very 

 . narrow ; tongue linear, channelled above, acute ; oesophagus 

 narrow ; proventriculus oblong ; gizzard rather large, oblong, 

 with strong lateral muscles, and rugous epithelium ; coeca of 

 moderate length, cylindrical. Nostrils small, linear, basal. 

 Eyes rather small. Aperture of ear roundish, and rather 

 small. Feet long, very slender ; tibia bare to a considerable 

 extent ; tarsus with numerous broad scutella before, scutel- 

 late behind also ; toes small, the first diminutive and ele- 

 vated ; the anterior toes with basal webs, of which the outer 

 is larger ; claws small, compressed, slightly curved, obtuse. 

 Plumage very soft and blended ; wings long, pointed, with 

 twenty-five quills ; the first primary longest, the rest rapidly 

 graduated ; secondaries incurved, the inner elongated and 

 tapering ; tail short, rounded, of twelve narrow, rounded 

 feathers. 





