Family CHARADRIIDJE. 



Subfamily CHARADRIIN^ or PLOVERS. 



In my treatment of the Charadriidse I have to a great extent 

 adopted the arrangement of Mr. Seebohm, elaborated in his 

 important work on the distribution of this family, which seems 

 to me the most simple and the most natural system hitherto 

 promulgated. 



The birds included in the present subfamily are distinguished 

 from their allies by having the middle and outermost toes joined 

 together by a small web at the base, and by having the nasal 

 aperture reaching beyond the basal fourth of the bill. This 

 latter character, however, is wanting in the Coursers (Cursorius) 

 and the Pratincoles (Glareold), an unfortunate circumstance 

 which brings them into confusion with the Bustards (Otis); the 

 scutellated tarsus of the former, and the hind toe of the latter, 

 however, are sufficient to distinguish them. 



This subfamily is composed of about one hundred species, 

 which may be further subdivided into six fairly well-defined 

 genera. Cosmopohtan. 



