370 Charadriadce. 



which they succeed, while those at the farther end approach 

 both in conformation and in habits very closely to the great 

 Order of Swimmers which follows them. The general name 

 assigned to them of ' Grallatores ' signifies ' walkers on stilts,' 

 and describes at once the characteristic for which they are con- 

 spicuous the great length of leg, which enables them to wado 

 in the shallows and marshes, whether on the sea-coast or on the 

 banks of fresh-water lakes and rivers. Combined with this 

 peculiar length of leg, we shall see a proportionate length of 

 neck or beak, or both together, by means of which they can 

 secure the food which they find in the shallow-water or mud- 

 banks in which they delight ; and in the more typical members 

 of the Order we shall find the toes of great length, and partially 

 connected with a membrane, by which they are the better 

 enabled to traverse the soft oozy ground where their prey is 

 most abundant, and to seek their food on the slimy mud into 

 which their bodies would otherwise sink. They are generally 

 provided with powerful wings, and their flight is rapid as well as 

 strong. Their food consists almost, if not quite, entirely of 

 animal substances, of which the lower classes of reptiles, fishes, 

 molluscs, worms, and other invertebrate creatures form the 

 principal portion. They are generally of shy and timid nature, 

 ever on the alert for danger, and avoid the too near approach of 

 man. 



CHARADRIAD.E (THE PLOVERS). 



Closely allied to the Bustards last described, and with the 

 same peculiar formation of foot, from which the hind toe is 

 absent, the large family of Plovers stands at the head of the 

 Waders. Their legs are of moderate length, and their beaks of 

 comparative shortness, as become those which connect the land 

 and water birds ; thus, too, they can, on the one hand, run with 

 considerable swiftness, and, on the other hand, they can fly with 

 great rapidity, and prolong their flight almost indefinitely. 

 Being generally late, if not nocturnal feeders, they are furnished 

 with large full eyes, which, with a corresponding expansion of 



