802 Birds of Celebes: Charadriidae. 



W. Blasius. The breeding grounds of this species are unknown, but are probably 

 situated in N. E. Siberia. Taczanowski mentions an example from Kamtschatka 

 so young as to be incapable of making a great journey; one may assume, there- 

 fore, that it was bred in the vicinity. By a curious mistake the distinguished 

 Polish ornithologist spoke of it as nesting in nearly all parts of Australia, and 

 Gould suspected that it did so in the highlands of Tasmania. There is, however, 

 no reason to doubt that the bird is an ordinary winter migrant to the southern 

 continent, and if it ever breeds there the case must be exceptional. At present 

 there seems to be no evidence whatever that it has ever done so. It is, however, 

 of plentiful occurrence in the country. On the other hand, specimens from the 

 East Indies, especially from the more western and southern islands, are extreme- 

 ly scarce, a circumstance which may be due to its ordinarily holding a more 

 eastern and direct route to Australia, or to its passage across the Archipelago 

 being very rapid. In New Zealand it occurs only as an occasional straggler 

 (BuUer 9). 



The closest affinities of this species seem to be with the North American 

 N. longirostris, which, as Seebohm points out, may be distinguished by its uniform 

 buff (not brown and white barred) axillaries, and by its rich buff under-parts 

 unstreaked on the breast and belly. 



ORDER CICONIIFORMES. 



Under this name Dr. Gadow includes 4 suborders: Steganopodes, Ardeae, 

 Ciconiae, and Phoenicopteri. The Steganopodes, consisting of the Gannets, Pelicans, 

 etc., are at least in habits and external appearance further removed from the 

 other three groups than the latter are from one another, and their short legs, 

 webbed feet, and natatorial habits sufficiently distinguish them as an order for 

 themselves. 



The young of the Ciconiiformes are hatched helpless and are covered with 

 neossoptile down; the gi'oups possess also, as Gadow points out, the following 

 characters: aquintocubital, oil-gland feathered, desmognathous, vomer complete, 

 basypterygoid processes wanting, spina interna sterni wanting, only one pair of 

 sterno-tracheal muscles; they are water or marsh birds, with swimming or wading 

 feet. By the last-named character they differ from the Accipitres, and by the 

 absence of the basipterygoid processes and the single pair of sterno-tracheal 

 muscles from the Anseriformes. 



SUBORDER CICONIAE. 



Containing the Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills, differing pterylologically and 

 anatomically from the Ardeae by the position of the old downs, neck-tracts, 



