250 



AVE: 



We :;rz;;:"„.re this series of Stilt-birds b_v three genera, wliiob it is diir.ciJr to a 

 anv ethers. a-.id wMeh may be considered as each forming a separate family. 



The Sheathbllls lOiioah, Fc^ste^^ — 

 Have short tees, r.eariv ^ .- -.he PoulrTT. tbe tarsi scutelkted. the beak thick a"ii coai 

 e'jve'.oped at base by a hard su':s:ance. which, it appears, the bL'd has the iK'wer of rail 

 depre-ssiug. 



We are acqtuunted with only one species, from Xe-^ H:'..2- i Ci. "s-r.-riTSjr.;. Vie:".lot>. the site of 

 Partrid^. and entirely white. It irBqaeots thr ^c^ s'2 -r- .-.r ". fr^ls <:r. d-.-'.d anini a* nnitte.'- thrown 

 tide, [Pn>f. Blaiavill^ has lately slJOWTi th?.: :-:~ -::.:.^r-.. . -.'. ; -:i. <.:.-:..:-::■ the <Jy;:exH:i 

 its whole anatomv, and the amnirr is ciso-.m.. .r 7. :::i.: ,-r..^ _ ;: :_.,.: vji'rr.. .. .:_^72j:crs. 



are wirb 



cal. acd 



a 3*rre] 

 op by the 



Ltchej-5 ;a 



Apparer.t!y ailic 



P.'.e uno-ir.:pres5ed 

 the immature drcs 



The -Vn.'.GENS yJt.'agii, d'Orb.), — 

 f trh'.oh nearly resembles that 01 a Pjultry-bird. and the 7; .imice is net unlike 

 Lark : wings aadieet as it: c .' ;^. 



:7r :- s:2e from that or a Partriij-e to less than 



Several ireriies ir.h.ilit the CordilEeras cf tbe .\nde5. ' -; :: 

 a Liirk. The s.-ual.er consrhate the TiM.>ciorst of VTeiilo:.^ 



Tbe Pbatixcoles 'J.': -: ":. Gveir/ — 

 Have a ^h.ert. cortical beak, arcuated throughout, a:: i .-;S;:t: i.::c th:.t ct a Fc uitry-h Ltd. Ttie wdnrs 

 excessively long and p-jinted. and tail often forked, ^r: i-t "r :i,: :" r'.-t :t a Swaliow or Petrel. The 

 legs are of mean length, the tarsi scntellated, the ex::: :h :::; - i_::*.r : aitaated, and thumb reaching 

 to the HToand ; ^middle claw furnished with an obtusely serrated inatr edge~. Thev flv in troops, and 

 crj- about the borders of water, subsisting on aquatic insects and worms. [Their sternal apparatus and 

 anatomy intimate their position to be among tbe Snipes an 1 Fltver?.' 



The Etiropean species tGf. tortp^ata'' is trr^wn above, white Iv'.:^ c- ;' :r the cr^tip ; the rtrret encircled with a 

 black ma.-kiE^ ; and base of the bill and feet reddish. It appears to ir.hahit the nonh cl the whole arcieat world. 



Otrr last genus consists ci 



The Flamivgce? Ph^eniixptertiS. Lin.'. — 

 ■Which are among tbe most extraordinary and isolated of birds, "oeing, in tact, an ertreme modincatioa 

 01 tbe Lameilirostral type, that is, of the Duck tribe, with inordinately eloncated neck and legs". Their 

 legs, of excessive length, have their front toes palmated to the ends, and an exrremelv short hind- 

 toe t the ueck is equally long and slender with the legs, and their small head is furnished with a Kill 

 the inferior mandible of which is of an oval form, longitudinally bent into a semicyliadrical canal, 

 while tbe i:orer one, oblong and flat, is bent crosswise in the midiile, so as to join tbe other exactly. 

 The membraajiis groove of the nostrils occupies nearly the whole side of that part which is behind 

 the sudden bend of tbe mandibles, and the nostrils themselves form a lonjitndinal sbt at tbe base of 

 the groove. The edges of the two nantiibles are furnished with small and ver.- tine t.-vniverse 

 larainse. which, together with the fleshy thickness of tbe tongue, imports some relationship with the 

 D ticks. We might even place the Flamingces among tbe Palmipnles, were it not for the Icncth cf 

 their tarsi, and tbe nucUry 01 part of the tibia, [an objection which would equally apply to the GuEs 

 and Petrels[. They feed on Testaceaas, Insects, and the spawn of Fishes, which thev seize bv means 

 of their long neck, reverting tbe head to employ with advantage the crook of the upper mandible. 

 They construct their nest of earth in marshy situations, placing themselves astride of it [ ? ] durin? the 

 act of incubation, in consequence of tbe extreme length of their legs incapacitatiusr them from sirtin; 

 in tbe usual m,anner. [The digestive organs resemble those of the Ducks with unlobated hind-toe ; 

 having even the crop, or distension of the cesophagcs. which oociu-s in no 5; eoies srrtctlv lelo!'.;;ntr to 

 the division of Stilt-hirds.] 



The common species ^P*, ruber) stands from three to four feet in heirht. and is ash-oolonred. with brown 

 streaks, dnrinj the first year: in the second there is a roseate hue on the wmcs, .ind in the third it assumes a 

 parple red on the back, and rose-coloured winjs. This snecics is found in all i\>u^s of the eastern cor.tir.er.t below 

 40 derrees. Xunierous flocks are seen every year on the southern ccasts of Eiirt>iie, and thev someliuH-s ascsiul 



as tar :.s ;' : 11 ;•: 



' tra h.X5 since deanirlvely ascertained' that the .American Fia-atingo is distinct : besides 

 aj s;vc:es on that coniiuent ^Pk. miii.jr, Vieilioi' of which the Pigmy Flamiuio of Teniminci- 



M. T :. : r 

 which, there i 

 is the voitnr. 



