230 GRALLATORES. CHARADRIUS. PLOVER. 
Young The young of the year differ from the adults in having the 
feathers of the upper parts of the body spotted with 
yellow and yellowish-white, sometimes approaching very 
nearly in colour to Charadrius Pluvialis. 
Genus CHARADRIUS, Zin. PLOVER. 
GENERIC CHARACTERS. 
Bill strait, compressed, shorter than the head; the anterior 
portion of each mandible horny and hard ; that of the upper 
one slightly arched, and rounded underneath; of the under 
one gently ascending. Lateral furrow extending to two- 
thirds of the length of the bill. 
Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, longitudinally cleft in the 
large membrane of the nasal furrow. 
Wings of mean length, narrow, acuminate, with the first 
quill-feather the longest. 
Legs rather long, or of mean length, slender, naked above 
the tarsal joint. Tarsi reticulated. Feet three-toed; all the 
toes directed forwards, rather short; the outer toe united to 
the middle one by a short membrane. 
Tail in gradations, from nearly a square end in some 
species, to a very wedge-shaped form in others. 
Plumage thick, close, and adpressed. 
The members of this genus (which may be considered the 
typical form of the Charadriade) are numerous, and pos- 
sess a very wide geographical distribution, species being 
found in every quarter of the globe. Some of them, during 
the greater part of the year, are the inhabitants of open dis- 
tricts, and of wild wastes, frequenting both dry and moist 
situations, and only retire towards the coast during the seve- 
rity of winter. Others are constantly resident upon the 
banks or about the mouths of rivers, particularly where the 
