350 BIRDS. 
der walking painful to them, are what principally distinguish the species 
of this subgenus, and give rise to their name. 
One species only is known in Europe,— Charadrius himantopus, 
L., Enl. 878, which is white, with a black calotte and mantle, and 
long red feet; it is a rare bird, whose habits are but imperfectly 
known *. 
This is perhaps the only place for the 
Recurvirostra, Lin. 
Or the Avosets, although their feet, which are webbed nearly to the ends 
of the toes, almost entitle them to a situation among the Palmipedes, yet 
their high tarsi and half naked legs, their long, slender, pointed, smooth, 
and elastic bill, together with their mode of life resulting from this con- 
formation, equally approximate them to the Snipes. What particularly 
characterizes, and even distinguishes them from all other birds, is the 
strong upward curve of their bill. Their legs are reticulated, and their 
thumb much too short to reach the ground. 
The European species,—Recurv. avocetta, L., Enl. 353, is white ; 
a black calotte and three bands on the wing of the same hue; feet 
Jead-coloured; it is a pretty bird of a graceful form, found in winter 
on the sea-shore. The American species,—R. americana, Wils. 
VII, Ixiii, 2; Leach, Zool. Misc., pl. 101, differs from it in a red 
hood. 
The coasts of the Indian seas produce a third, which is white, 
with black wings and red feet, the R. orientalis, Cuv.t 
FAMILY V. 
—~.>— 
MACRODACTYLI. 
Tuis family is furnished with very long toes, fitted for walking on the 
grass of marshes, and even for swimming, in those numereus species 
especially, in which they are bordered. There are no membranes, how- 
ever, between the bases of their toes, not even between the external ones. 
The bill, more or less compressed on the sides, is lengthened or shortened 
according to the genus, never, however, becoming as slender or as weak 
as that of the preceding family. The body of these birds is also singu- 
larly compressed, a circumstance which is owing to the narrowness of the 
sternum; their wings are moderate or short, and their flight feeble. They 
all have a long thumb. 
* Add, Him. nigricollis, Wils. VII, pl. lviii, 2, and Vieill. Gal. pl. 229. 
{ Vieillot has changed this name into Recurvir. leucocephala, Gal. pl. 272. 
