88 



CLASS AVES. 



ORDER G RAL L AT O R I A. 



9. STREPSILAS (Gr. <n-pfyo, / turn, and Xac, a stone). Beak of mode- 

 rate size, slender, straight, tapering conically to the tip, which is hard, 

 straight, and truncated ; nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by membrane, 

 and completely piercing through the beak, of which the nasal channel occu- 

 pies half the length ; legs of moderate size, slight, and a little bare above 

 the knees ; three toes in front, connected by a very short membrane, and 

 one behind touching the ground; wings acuminated, the first quill the 

 longest. 



10. TOTAXT/S (Ital. tota.no). Beak of moderate length, oblong, slender, 

 straight, and rarely curving upwards, soft at the base, hard, solid, and 

 cutting at the pointed tip, and compressed throughout its whole length ; 

 both mandibles grooved only at then- base, and the tip of the upper curving 

 slightly upon the lower ; nostrils lateral, linear, and pierced in the grooves ; 

 legs long, slender, and naked above the knee ; three toes in front and one 

 behind, the middle and outer connected by membrane often so far as the 

 second joint. 



11. TRINOA. Beak of moderate size, slightly arched, soft and flexible 

 throughout its entire length, compressed at the base, and depressed, dilated, 

 and blunt at the tip ; both mandibles grooved nearly to the point ; nostrils 

 lateral, conical, and piercing the membrane which covers the nasal groove ; 

 legs slender, and naked above the knee ; front toes completely divided and 

 edged with a narrow membrane; hind toe articulated on the tarsus. 



LONGIROSTEES. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



HIMANTOPUS Long Legs. These birds have longer legs than any other 

 bird ; they measure, from the knee to the foot, about seven inches ; whilst 

 the body, when stripped of its feathers, very little, if at all, exceeds that of 

 a Thrush. Their wings are large, and they fly with great rapidity. They 

 are found in all parts of the world, more especially in Africa, but are by no 

 means numerous, and live either on the sea-shore or among the marshes, 

 feeding on worms and insects. 



There are but two species known : The Long-legged Plover (H. Melan- 

 opterus), and the Black-necked Long Legs (H. Nigricollis). 



IBIS. Ibes are found in all parts of the world, except Australia, but 

 more especially in warm climates, from whence they sometimes migrate, 

 and are occasionally met with in Germany, Holland, and England. They 

 feed upon insects, worms, testaceous animals, and sometimes even on small 

 fishes. The Ibes perform a powerful and elevated flight, extending then- 

 neck and legs horizontally with their body, and occasionally uttering hoarse, 

 bass croakings. When they settle, they are observed huddling close toge- 

 ther, and for hours employed raking up the mud with their beak, advancing 

 very slowly, and not with the rapidity of the Curlew; and while thus 

 engaged they usually rest upon one leg only. They build mostly on high 

 trees, and feed their young in the nest till they can fly. 



There are about fifteen species or more. The True Ibis (I. Religiosa), 

 about the size of a fowl, and the Glossy Ibis (I. Falcinellus), nearly two 

 feet in length, were adored by the ancient Egyptians, and of which nume- 

 rous mummies are found. 



LIMOSA Godwit. The Godwits are easily distinguished from the Wood- 

 cocks and Snipes, among which they were included by Linnaais, by their 

 curved beak, smooth at its point, by the more forward position of the eyes, 

 by their standing higher, and by the membrane connecting the middle with 

 the outer toe. And no less do they differ from them in their habits ; for 

 whilst the Woodcock lives almost entirely in the woods, and the Snipes 

 among the fresh marshes, the Godwits are found about the mouths of rivers, 

 and more rarely by the sea-side ; like the others, however, they feed on 

 worms, groping for them in the mud thrown up by the sea, for which pur- 

 pose their soft and sensible beak admirably adapts them. They are extremely 

 timid, being disturbed by the least noise, when they fly off, uttering a cry 

 which resembles the smothered bleating of a goat. During the daytime 

 they keep close, but at twilight are busily employed boring the mud with 

 their long bilk They do not remain long in the same place, so that it often 

 happens, that although they have been seen in numbers in the evening, the 

 next morning they are not to be found. Godwits are birds of passage, 



making their appearance at the same time as Woodcocks ; they are subjected 

 to the double moult, and it is a curious circumstance that the females moult 

 much later than the males ; and it may also be noted that the females are 

 much the larger birds. The species number about eight or nine. 



NUMENIUS Curlew. The birds forming this genus were included by 

 Linnaeus among the Scolopaces, and by others among the Ibes, from both of 

 which, however, they distinctly differ both in form and habits. They are 

 very shy, frequent the sea-coast and districts covered with dry mud, but 

 always in the neighbourhood of water or marsh, feeding on earth-worms, 

 slugs, terrestrial and aqueous insects. During summer they retire to moun- 

 tainous and unfrequented parts, where they pair and breed. They emigrate 

 in large flocks, but during breeding-time live only in pairs ; their flight is 

 high and long continued. They moult but once a year; and the onlv dis- 

 tinction between the young and old birds is the slighter curve and shu; 

 of the beak of the former. 



Species the Curlew (N. Arquatus), two feet in length, and sometimes 

 more; breadth three feet and a half; bill five inches long, upper mandible 

 blackish-brown, lower flesh-coloured ; plumage light ash. It is a bird of 

 passage on the Dutch, French, and English coasts, and very common in 

 many parts of Europe. The Whimbrel (N. Phaaopus), a bird less common 

 on the English coasts than the Curlew. They visit Spalding, where they 

 are called Curlew Knots, in large flocks in April, but leave that place in 

 May. The Long-billed Curlew (N. Longirostris), and the Esquimaux Curlew 

 (N. Borealis), both known in the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay. 



PHALAROPUS. These birds are principally found in or near the great 

 lakes, and on the sea-coast of the Arctic regions. They form one of the 

 links connecting the Wading and Web-footed Orders, having the form of 

 the Sandpipers with some of the habits of the Gulls, and are covered with 

 a thick coat of feathers, the roots of which are embedded in down like those 

 of the Ducks. They run badly, but swim with much grace and swiftness, 

 and have no more dread of the waves of the sea than of those of rivers and 

 lakes. They feed on small insects and marine worms. They are not nume- 

 rous, and are generally seen only in pairs. There are four species. 



RECURVIROSTRA. There are four species, one of each being found in 

 Europe, Africa, America, and New Holland. Their flight is rapid ; they 

 live on mud-banks at the mouths of rivers ; and their food consists of insects 

 and the spawn of crustaceous animals. 



RHYNCHJ:A. Similar to the Woodcocks : colours bright ; native of 

 Madagascar, the Cape, and India. 



SCOLOPAX Woodcock, Snipe. This genus, which consists of thirteen 

 species, is composed of three sections : 1. Woodcocks (Rusticolas). Whole 

 thigh feathered as in land birds ; eyes set far back and near the crown, 

 giving the head a square form ; belly barred. 2. Snipes (Scolopaces). 

 Lower part of the thigh featherless ; eyes and form of the head as in the 

 Woodcocks ; belly generally white and not barred. 3. Long-beaks (Macro- 

 ramphi). Middle and outer toes united by membrane as far as the first joint. 



The habits of these sections vary in some degree ; those of the first pre- 

 ferring the swamps in woody districts, whilst the species forming the other 

 two sections are found in the open marshes, and some even upon the sea- 

 coast Their food consists principally of worms and beetles, which the 

 sensitive skin covering their beaks enables them to dig out of the soft mini ; 

 and their bills are further adapted for this mode of taking their food, which 

 is commonly called boring, by the adaptation of some muscles at the root of 

 the mandibles in such a manner as to open them at their tips like the forceps 

 used for the microscope. There is great similarity in the plumage of this 

 genus, which is subject to a double moulting annually, and is most brilliant 

 in summer-time. They mostly lead a solitary life, moving about in pairs. 

 A few remain stationary throughout the year, but the greater number are 

 birds of passage twice a year, moving from south to north in the spring, 

 and from north to south in the autumn. When :in -ivnl in the country where 

 they intend to winter, it is curious to observe that they are constantly 

 changing their stations, and this change seems dependent on the weather ; 

 so that whilst to-day they may be found in great numbers among the marshes, 

 yet to-morrow these tracts will be completely deserted, and the birds are 



