VANBLLUS. 205 



and its allies, the upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers differ somewhat in colour from 

 the rump. 



In the typical Lapwings the rump is some dark shade of brown or grey, suddenly 

 separated from the pure white upper tail-coverts and basal portion of the central tail- 

 feathers, which is again suddenly separated from the clearly defined broad black band across 

 the tips of the central tail-feathers. 



If this character be satisfactory it ought, of course, to apply to the nineteen species 

 which we have already determined to be Lapwings because they have either spurs or 

 wattles, or both. It applies to all of them ; but two of the non-spurred and non-wattled 

 Lapwings are slightly exceptional, V. cristatus and V. leucurus. The former has the black 

 band across the central tail-feathers very sharply defined from the pure white basal half, 

 but it appears to have lost its upper tail-coverts altogether ; the latter has the white upper 

 tail-coverts well developed and very clearly defined, but it has lost the black band across 

 the central tail-feathers, which are pure white throughout. 



The character central tail-feathers white for nearly the basal half excludes all the 

 species belonging to the genus Charadrius, and includes all the Lapwings except Vanellus 

 crassirostris, an aberrant species, in which only a third of the basal portion of the central 

 tail-feathers is white ; but as this species has a small though very sharp spur on its wing 

 there is no doubt that it is a Lapwing and not a Plover. 



The genus Vanellus must therefore be defined as 



Chauadriin^ having the nasal apertures placed in a well-defined groove, having no Generic- 

 lobes on the sides of the head, but occasionally having spurs on the wings, and having at 

 least the basal third of the central tail-feathers white. 



Synonymy of the Genus Vakellus. 



Type. 



Vanellus, Brisson, Orn. v. p. 94 (1760) V. cristatus. 



Hoplopterus, Bonap. Sagg. Distr. An. Vert. p. 56 (1831) V. spinosus. 



Chettiisia, Bunap. Icon. Faun. Ital. Ucc, Introd. p. 3 (1841) V. gregarius. 



StX!'"^}^'''*'^^-^^^^^^ • • ■ • •{v:reTpTendens. 



SttTauim^"*'^^''*^-^'^' £o««^. Compt. Rend, xliii. pp. 418, 419 (1856) .{^; ^natTs'"' 



Defilippa, Salvad. Att. Sue. Ital. Sc. Nat. viii. p. 373 (1865) "1 



Limnetes, de Filippi, fide Finsch Sf Hartlaub, Vog. Ost-Afr. iv. p. 64 (1870) . 1 ^ crassirostris. 

 B.emi]iarra, de Filippi, fide Heuglin, Orn. N.O.-Afr. u. p. 994< {1873) ..." 

 'Nomvisia, Heuglin, Orn. N.O.-Afr. a. T^. 994 {1873) ^ 



The synonymy of the genus Vanellus cannot be regarded as a credit to ornitho- 

 logists, who seem to have shared the superstitious Bonaparte-worship of the day. It is 

 almost a waste of paper to reprint such useless synonyms ; but a line must be drawn 



