172 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Oyster-catchers are found in nearly every part of the world, and in the southern parts, that is, in 

 South America, South Africa, and Australia, there are three species, which are totally black in 

 colour. 



THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE WADING BIRDS, OR GRALLJE. 

 THE BUSTARDS (Otididce). 



There is so much that is like a Game-bird in the Bustard, that it may well be considered to form 

 a link between the Gallince and the Plovers. In the present family the general tone of the plumage is 

 sandy-coloured, vermiculated with blackish lines and cross-markings. The gape is very wide, the mouth 

 being cleft to beyond the region of the eye ; the toes short and thick. The bill is in every instance 



THICK-KNEE, OR STONE CURLEW. 



short, and the wing is short and convex, the central quills being shorter, and the secondaries 

 nearly equal in length to the primaries. The tail is always large, and there is no hind toe. 

 The most Plover-like of the family of Bustards are the Thick-knees, or Stone Curlews (CEdicnemus), and 

 the Coursers (Cursorius). The first of these genera occurs in nearly every part of the globe, and the 

 members of it are remarkable for their more pointed and Plover-like wing, while they have the toes 

 united at the base with a web. The eye is also very large, and the tai-si are i-eticulated. They frequent 

 downs and large waste lands in England, indeed the English species (CEdicnemus crepitans) is often 

 called the Norfolk Plover, as it is in that county that it is still principally found. We have, however, 

 noticed a pair for several successive years on the Hampshire Downs. They inhabit desert places 

 generally, and are very shy, being strong of flight, whilst they also run with great speed. The Coursers 

 (Cursorius) differ from the Thick-knees in having the tarsi covered with transverse scales in front, 

 while they are altogether smaller birds. They frequent the deserts, and are not found in northern 

 parts of the globe, nor do they occur in the New World. From the similarity of colouring which 

 these birds exhibit to the sandy wastes they inhabit, they are with difficulty observed, and their shy 

 disposition makes them hard to obtain. This is more especially the case with the Cream-coloured 



