60 GRALLATORES. IBIS. IxIs. 
which completes the circle of the order, it is linked, through 
the medium of T'ringa, &c. with the genera Vanellus, Are- 
naria, &c. of that aberrant family. 
The Scolopacide are the inhabitants of marshes, and the 
shcres of lakes, rivers, and the sea. They live entirely on 
animal matter, such as worms, insects, mollusca, the roe and 
small fry of fishes. Most of the genera procure food by 
thrusting the bill into the soft earth, or the mud of shores, 
and thence extracting their prey ; and, to facilitate this, an 
extraordinary development of the nerve is distributed over, 
and to the extreme point of the bill, thus endowing them 
‘with an exquisite sense of feeling; and, in many species, this 
member is further provided with a peculiar muscle, which, 
by the closing or contracting of the upper part of the man- 
dibles, operates so as to expand them at the point, and enables 
the bird, with the bill still buried in the ground, to seize its 
prey the moment it is aware of being in contact with it. 
From this particular mode of searching for their prey, these 
are frequently styled “ Birds of Suction.” They all possess 
a great power of flight, having an ample development of 
wing, and are generally subject to the laws of migration. 
Species of this family are found in all parts of the world, and 
many of the genera have a very wide geographical distri- 
bution. Their nidification is on the ground, and they lay 
four eggs of a peculiar form, one end being large and round- 
ed, the other decreasing to a point. The position of these 
in the nest is with the rounded end outwards, the smaller in- 
wards, and meeting together in the centre of the nest. Thus 
placed, they occupy a small space, and are more easily co- 
vered in incubation than they would be if disposed in any 
other form. The flesh of these birds is in general succulent 
and well-flavoured. 
