Charadriid-e.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-TuE Ckeam-coloured Courser. 



409 



latter there is a broader black band, crossed in the 

 middle by a white one. 



The little Bnstard is generally distributed in South- 

 cm Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. In 

 northern countries it is only a straggler, and the 

 individuals killed in Britain cannot be regarded other- 

 wise than as accidental visitors. As they occur here 

 only in winter, and chiefly in the eastern counties, 

 they probably come to us from the north of Europe. 

 The little Bustard frequents open districts, and has a 

 rapid and powerful flight. Its food consists of herbage, 

 seeds of various kinds, and insects. The eggs are laid 

 upon the ground amongst tall herbage ; they vary in 

 number from three to five. 



THE HOUBARA BUSTARD {Eupoduiis undulata), 

 which inhabits Northern Africa, is also met with in 

 Spain. It is considerably smaller than the Great 

 Bustard, which it resembles in general form, but has 

 the legs still more elongated; its general colour is 

 yellowish or bulT, delicately mottled with numerous 

 small brown spots; the wing primaries are black with a 

 white spot in the middle ; the male is adorned on the 

 head with a crest of long light feathers, and on the 

 sides of the neck with a large ruff of similar plumes. 

 Other species of this group are met with in Africa, 

 India, and Australia; they are all very similar botli in 

 appearance and habits. 



Family IL— CHARADRIID^. 



This family, tlie best known species of which are 

 the Plovers, includes a considerable assemblage of 

 various forms, some of which exhibit much resemblance 

 to the Bustards both in appearance and habits, whilst 

 others partake more of the characters of some of the 

 genuine wading birds. In these birds the bill is 

 usually shorter than the head, and the basal part of 

 the upper mandible is depressed, soft, and weak, whilst 

 the apical portion is stronger, harder, and more or less 

 arched. The nostrils are situated in long grooves, 

 which extend half the length of the upper mandible. 

 The legs and feet are usually much elongated and 

 slender, with the naked skin extending considerably 

 above the articulation of the tarsus ; the anterior toes 

 are but moderately developed, and united at the base 

 by a small membrane ; the posterior toe is often want- 

 ing, and, when present, attached to the back of the 

 tarsus at some little distance from the ground. 



The majority of the birds of this family are inhab- 

 itants of the Eastern hemisphere. They are found in 

 all localities, generally in flocks, and some of them 

 frequent fields and pastures at a distance from water, 

 whilst others haunt the margins of rivers and lakes, or 

 even seek their subsistence on the sea-shore. Many of 

 them are migratory birds, passing to high latitudes 

 during the summer for the purpose of breeding. 



THE COMMON THICK-KNEE [CEdknemus crepi- 

 /an«)— Plate 22, fig. 85 — is one of the species belonging 

 to this family which make the nearest approach to the 

 Bustards. It has long legs, terminated by only three 

 toes, which are united for some distance by a mem- 

 brane ; its nostrils are situated near the middle of the 

 beak, which is depressed and weak at the base, horny 

 Vol. 1. 



and arched towards the apex. It is rather a largo 

 species, measuring about seventeen inches in length. 



In this country the Thick-knee occurs only in the 

 summer, and is more abundant in the southern and 

 eastern counties of England than elsewhere. It fre- 

 quents especially the sandy plains of Norfolk, from 

 which circumstance it is frequently called the Norfolk 

 Plover. It is also found in most of the temperate and 

 warmer parts of the Old World. The food of these 

 birds consists chiefly of worms, slugs, and insects, but 

 they are likewise said to devour small mammalia and 

 reptiles. They frequent open districts, heaths, and 

 fallow fields, and the female deposits her two eggs upon 

 the bare ground. These birds appear to be crepuscular 

 or nocturnal in their habits, and their shrill whistling 

 note is often heard at night in the solitary districts 

 which they haunt. 



THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER [Cursorhis gal- 

 liens) is another species closely allied to the Bustards, 

 with which it agrees in its general habits. It is an 

 inhabitant of the northern parts of Africa, and is said 

 to be more abimdant in Abyssinia than elsewhere. On 

 the north coast of Africa it is known as a summer 

 visitor from the interior, and a few specimens have 

 been known to extend their migiation into Europe, and 

 even as far north as this country. This bird is much 

 smaller than the preceding species, measuring only 

 about ten inches in length. Its general colour is pale 

 buffy-browTi above, and buffy- white beneath ; the pri- 

 maries are black, and tlie head exhibits a white and 

 black streak on each side, meeting behind ; the feet are 

 cream colour. Like the rest of its genus the Cream- 

 coloured Courser runs with extreme rapidity. It fre- 

 quents dry ground. 



THE BRAZEN-WINGED COURSER (Cursorhis chal- 

 copterus) — Plate 2.3, fig. 86— also called the Purple- 

 winged Courser, is a native of Southern and Tropical 

 Africa. It is about the same size as the preceding 

 species, but has a shorter and stouter bill. The general 

 colour of its plumage is an ashy-brown ; the head is 

 variegated with white and reddish-brown, and the 

 wing-feathers are adorned with ■^•iolet spots, margined 

 with a shining green band. 



THE COLLARED PRATINCOLE (Glareola iorquaia) 

 —Plate 23, fig. 87. The Pratincoles, all of which are 

 inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere, are distinguished 

 by the shortness of their bill, which is considerably 

 arched, and has its gape very wide, extending back as 

 far as the eyes, as in the Fissirostral birds. From this 

 peculiarity, coupled with its long, narrow, and pointed 

 wings and forked tail, Linnseus was induced to arrange 

 the species known to him in the same genus with the 

 swallows, although, at the same time, recognizing its 

 relationship to the wading birds. 



Tlie Collared Pratincole is an inhabitant of the 

 warmer and temperate parts of Africa, Asia, and 

 Europe, migrating towards the north in tlie spring, 

 sometimes even as far as England. In its general 

 habits this bird resembles the plovers, frequenting 

 sandy plains and the margins of water, and running 

 with great rapidity. As might be expected, from tho 

 form of its wings and tail, it also flies remarkably 

 well, its flight greatly resembling that of a swallow; 



3 F 



