656 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



basal ; win^s l°U£fj very pointed, the 1st primary longest : tail round- 

 ed, of twelve feathers; tarsus short ; tibia barely denuded ; toe& 

 divided to the base: a moderate hin i toe ; claws short and pointed. 

 This sub-family is composed ol one g<nus, with only one species, 

 found on sea- coasts over all the world. 



Gen. Strepsilas, L. 



Syn. Arenaria, Brisson — Morinella, Meyer — Cinclus, Moehring 

 and Gray. 



Char. — Those of the family of which it is the sole genus. 



This remarkable type has the bill something like that of a 

 Nuthatch, but stronger ; it is a bird of small size, and has a double 

 moult. Cuvier classed it, next the Phalaropes in the following 

 family, but its strong bill, coloration, and habits are quite those 

 of the present group. 



860. Strepsilas interpres, Linn^us. 



Tringa, apud Linnaeus — Blyth, Cat. 1602 — Jerdon, Cat. 

 356. — Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 



The Turnstone. 



Descr. — Head and neck white, the crown of the head, with some 

 black stripes ; a narrow black frontal band, continued behind the 

 eye and meeting another narrow stripe of the same colour from the 

 base of the lower mandible ; shortly beyond, these unite into an 

 incomplete collar, extending back along the sides of the neck, and 

 in front expanding and forming a broad gorget covering the 

 breast, and which, at its termination below, sends up another incom- 

 plete band towards the shoulder of the wing ; mantle and wings 

 chesnut brown mixed with black, especially on the scapulars ; 

 coverts edged with grey and whitish ; primaries black, stem of the 

 1st white ; secondaries tipped greyish ; back, rump and upper tail- 

 coverts white, crossed on the rump by a black hand ; tail white, 

 with a broad sub-terminal band of black ; lower parts white.. 



Bill black ; irides deep brown ; legs orange yellow. Length 

 8^ inches ; wing 6 ; tail 2 J ; bill at front f ; tarsus 1. 



The female differs only, it is said, in having the colours not so 

 distinct, and the white on the head and neck less pure. In winter 



