SNIPES. 137 



four somewhat conical eggs, coloured something like those of the 

 Plovers, and the young run as soon as they leave the shell. 



The sternum has a double emargination, the outermost the 

 largest, and the keel is high ; the bony orbit is very deficient. 

 The stomach is a muscular gizzard, and the intestines are long, 

 with small or moderate caeca. The females are, in many cases, 

 larger than the males ; in a very few, the males are much larger 

 than the females, and, in these cases, are polygamous. 



They are very closely related to the Plovers in structure and 

 internal anatomy, but differ in their more lengthened bill, slender 

 form, more aquatic habits, and mode of colouration. 



The Longirostres comprise one large family, the Scolopacida, 

 and a very small group, differing from them only in external 

 conformation and colour, the Himantopidce ; these last may be 

 said to bear the same relation to the rest of the tribe, that the Sea- 

 plovers (Hcematopodida) do to the other Plovers, and to which, 

 indeed, these birds have a general similarity of colour. 



Fam. Scolopacid^. 



Bill typically long, slender, in many somewhat soft towards the 

 tip, in others hard throughout ; wings lengthened, as are the ter- 

 tials ; tail short ; tarsus moderately long ; toes slightly united by a 

 very short web. Plumage brown, of various shades above, white, 

 more or less tinged brown, or ashy beneath. 



The Snipes and Sand-pipers form a continued series, graduating 

 into each other, with various modifications of the bill, as to length, 

 strength, hardness, and form. The bill is short in some, as in 

 Tringa ; curved in the Curlews ; somewhat turned upwards in 

 Limosa and Terehia ; soft in the Snipes, moderately hard in 

 Totanus. They may be divided, according to these modifications, 

 (and in one case from the structure of the feet), into Scolopacince, 

 True Snipes; Limosince, Godwits ; Numenince, Curlews; Tringince, 

 Stints; Phalaropince, and Totanince } Phalaropes ; Sand-pipers. 



Sub-fam. Scolopacinje, Snipes. 

 Bill long, straight, rather soft, swollen at the tip, which is gently 

 bent over the lower mandible ; tarsus rather short ; tail varying 

 in the number of feathers. 



