98 GEALL^E. 



and more flexible at the joints of the tarsi than those of most 

 of the order ; the toes are of moderate length, the middle and 

 outer ones joined by a broader membrane than in the last- 

 mentioned genus ; and the claws very small, and apparently 

 not at all adapted for scraping. The legs are bare of feathers 

 for two or three inches above the tarsal joints, and of a 

 pale blood-red, as are also the irides. 



The head and neck, exclusive of the bill, are about four 

 inches in length, and the tail about two inches, which leaves 

 only about four inches and a half for the body of the bird, 

 which is not much above a third of the total length of the 

 legs. The forehead is high and rounded, and the neck and 

 body very graceful in their outlines. The wings are long 

 and pointed, the primary quill being considerably longer than 

 any of the others. 



The top of the head, the back, and the wings, are black .; 

 the tail blackish-grey, with the exterior feathers partly or 

 wholly white ; all the other parts are pure white, with the 

 exception of some dusky streaks on the back of the neck, 

 which are supposed to be characteristic of immature birds. 

 The weight of the bird is about five ounces. 



Little is known respecting the nest, the general habits, or 

 the style of walking, of these very extraordinary birds. 

 Analogy would lead us to suppose that they feed upon in- 

 sects and mollusca, which they pick from the tall and thick 

 aquatic herbage on the margins of permanent lakes, or of 

 places which are seasonally flooded ; but the structure of the 

 bird is so very peculiar, that all analogy respecting it must 

 be vague.* 



* The stilt-plover occurs as a bird of passage in France, Germany, 

 and tlu- southern parts of continental Europe. Its chief hahitats, how- 

 ever, are the borders of the vast saline lakes of Hungary and Russia, 

 \\ here it hreeds. It is common in various parts of Asia and in Kirypt. 

 In North Amerieu this speeies is represented by the Jli / t/">t/<ij>/t.s iiiysi- 

 cullis, for an account of which see " Wilson's American Ornithology." In 



