THE PRATINCOLES. 133 



of the spots being larger and taking the form of blotches. The 

 underlying grey spots are equally distributed and mixed up with 

 the darker ones. Axis, i'35-i'4 inch; diam., i'o-i'i. 



THE PRATINCOLES. GENUS GLAREOLA. 

 Glareola,) Brisson, Orn. v. p. 141 (1760). 



These curious birds were placed even by so great a naturalist 

 as Sundevall among the Night-Jars, principally on account 

 of their pectinated middle claw, which is a Caprimulgine 

 character. We have, however, already seen that this peculiarity 

 is also shared by the Coursers, from which the Pratincoles 

 differ in their extraordinarily long wings, the primaries being 

 pointed and reaching to the tip of the tail, or even beyond it. 

 There are three genera of the Pratincoles, the genus Stiltia of 

 Australia, with very long legs, like those of the Coursers, the 

 True Pratincoles (Glartola) and the Dwarf Pratincoles (Galac- 

 tochrysea), all of which have very short legs. 



THE TRUE PRATINCOLES. GENUS GLAREOLA. 



Glareold) Brisson, Orn. v. p. 141 (1760). 



Type, G. pratincola (Linn.). 



From its long wings this Pratincole was actually placed by 

 Linnaeus among the Swallows, and we have already seen that 

 so recently as 1872 Sundevall classed it with the Night- Jars. 

 Besides the short tarsus, the genus Glareola is distinguished by 

 its strongly forked tail, the outer feather exceeding the others 

 in length. 



I. THE PRATINCOLE. GLAREOLA PRATINCOLA. 



Hirundo pratincola. Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 345 (1766). 



Glareola pratincola^ Macg. Brit. B. iv. p. 49 (1852); Dresser, 

 B. Eur. vii. p. 411, pi. 513, fig. i (1874); B. O. U. List 

 Brit. B. p. 155 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. iii. p. 

 231(1883); Seebohm, Brit. B. iii. p. 69(1885); Saunders, 

 Man. Brit. B. p. 517 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. 

 part xxviii. (1894) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 55. 

 (Plate LXXVIL) 



