SORTATION. 



31 



toes be webbed up to the claws, it will be assignable to one of four 



families, and to three of these in respect 

 ' of only one representative, so that in that 

 case we can tell at once, not only what in 

 its family, but what are its genus and 

 species. If its wings are fin-like and its 

 tail rudimentary, it will be one of the 

 Alcida, an Auk, a Guillemot, a Puffin, or 

 a Razorbill. If its wings are not fin-like 

 and its tail is of ordinary proportions, it 

 may be either a Wilson's Petrel, Pallas's 

 Sand Grouse, or a Kittiwake Gull. The Petrel you will know by its 

 very long legs ; it is the longest legged Petrel in the British list, and 

 our only representative of the genus Oceajiites, which is the only genus 

 of the Procellariidce having only three toes. It is not a common bird, 

 but it is unmistakable. Pallas's Sand Grouse is also a rarity, an 

 occasional straggler from the depths of Tartary, that caused quite a 

 sensation amongst sportsmen by its first appearance here some thirty 

 years ago. It is the only species on our list of the one genus 

 Syrrhaptes, which is, in its turn, the only representative we have of 

 the family PterocUda. It is separable from the rest of this three-toed 

 group by its long wings and its wedge-shaped tail, which has i6 

 feathers in it. 



As the Petrels have one three-toed representative, so have the 

 Gulls, that being the Kittiwake. Occasionally we may find a 

 Kittiwake with the hind toes rudimentary and not obsolete ; but in 

 that case we shall pick him up again among the rest of the Gulls, 

 from whom he is generally distinguishable in the way we have stated. 

 If he has only the three toes he is not likely to be mistaken for a 

 Petrel, a Sand Grouse, or a Guillemot ; he is a true Sea Gull, white 

 and silver grey ; his tail is not wedge-shaped ; and he has very long 

 wings, the flight feathers in which generally number 31. 



But, it may be asked, what are the flight feathers of a bird ? Let 

 us strip a wing and study it a little. Here is one, a Rook's, freely 

 treated so as to be clear. 



