626 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Gralla. 

 tores. 



steady, and not in short, sudden jerks, like that of the 

 plover. As they frequently alight on the bare marsh, they 

 drop their wings, stand with their legs half bent, and 

 trembling, as if unable to sustain the burden of their bo- 

 dies. In this ridiculous posture they will sometimes stand 

 for several minutes, uttering a curring sound, while, from 

 the corresponding quiverings of their wings and long legs, 

 they seem to balance themselves with great difficulty. 



"This singular manoeuvre is, no doubt, intended to induce 

 a belief that they may be easily caught, and so turn the 

 attention of the person from the pursuit of their nests and 

 young to themselves. The red-necked avocet practises the 

 very same deception, in the same ludicrous manner, and 

 both alight indiscriminately on the ground or in the water. 

 Both will occasionally swim for a few feet, when they 

 chance in wading to lose their depth, as I have had seve- 

 ral times an opportunity of observing." 1 



The singular birds called avocets form the genus Re- 

 curvirostra, Linn. Their feet are almost as fully pal- 

 mated as those of certain Natatores, yet they are gene- 

 rally classed among the Grallatores, by reason of their 

 lengthened tarsi, and legs bare above the knee. The bill 

 also has the same lengthened, slender, pointed form, and 

 smooth elastic structure, which characterize our present 

 order, with which the birds in question agree in their ge- 

 neral mode of life. The character which distinguishes 

 them from all other birds is the extraordinary upward cur- 

 vature of the bill (see Plate CCCC. fig. 6). The avocets 

 live either in pairs or small companies in the midst of 

 marshes, where they wade about with great ease, and to a 

 considerable depth, in consequence of their bodies being 

 raised so high above the surface. Though web-footed, 

 they do not swim except by compulsion ; yet one which 

 Wilson wounded attempted repeatedly to dive, but the 

 water was too shallow for his purpose. They run rapidly, 

 and their flight is powerful and long sustained. Their 

 nests are described as small cavities in the earth, lined 

 with a i'ew weeds, or merely the bosom of the bare sand ; 

 sometimes, however, they are raised several inches above 

 the surface, as if to avoid the effects of moisture or inun- 

 dation. The European species (/E. avocetta, Linn.) is not 

 uncommon along the eastern coasts of England south of 

 the Humber. It breeds in the fenny parts of Lincolnshire 

 and Norfolk, as well as in Romney Marsh in Kent. They 

 assemble during winter in small flocks, frequenting the 

 oozy shores about the mouths of rivers, where they scoop 

 out small worms and mollusca. Buffon indulges in one of 

 his characteristic vagaries while discussing the singular 

 bill of this bird, which he supposes to be " one of those 

 errors or essays of nature, which, if carried a little further, 

 would destroy itself ; for if the curvature of the bill were 

 a degree increased, the bird could not procure any sort of 

 food, and the organ destined for the support of life would 

 infallibly occasion its destruction." This essay of nature 

 is, however, as it happens, a most successful one ; for by 

 means of its lengthened legs and upturned bill, the avo- 

 cet feeds with facility in muddy marshes, where if other- 

 wise organized it would probably starve. If a devoted 

 servant of God, while tonsorially engaged on some beau- 

 tiful Sabbath morning, were to move the edge of his glit- 

 tering blade an inch nearer his carotid artery, he would 

 die, leaving behind him, in all probability, a disconsolate 

 widow, and a large family of small children ; but as he 

 takes especial care to move his useful weapon in another 

 direction, the artery remains intact, and the crime of sui- 

 cide unaccomplished. We doubt not that the curvature 

 of the bill in question could not have been better project- 

 ed even by BufFon himself, although he was addicted in 

 his youth to mathematics. The American avocet (R. 



Americana, Linn., Plate CCCC. fig. 6) has the head and 

 neck pale rufous, and the bill takes a downward curve to- 

 wards the extremity. Though abundant on the banks oC 

 the Saskatchewan, as far as the fifty-third parallel, it does 

 not seem to proceed into the more northern regions. Be- 

 sides these species, there are the R. alba of Latham (R. 

 orientalis, Cuv.), from India ; and the R. rubricollis, Temm., 

 a native of New Holland. Our indigenous species also oc- 

 curs both in Asia and Africa. 



FAMILY V.— MACRODACTYLKS. 



The prevailing character of this group consists in the 

 extremely long narrow form of the toes, which are with- 

 out any connecting web. Nevertheless the species run 

 with great ease in moist places, and some of them swim 

 very swiftly. The bill, more or less compressed laterally, 

 varies in length in different genera, but is never so deli- 

 cately slender as among the preceding family. The body 

 in these birds is much compressed, a form determined in 

 a great measure by the narrow nature of the sternum. 

 The wings are of medium length, or short ; and the power 

 of flight, though necessarily efficient in such as are birds of 

 passage, is on the whole restricted, or but sparingly exer- 

 cised. The posterior toe is of considerable length. 



The first genus, called Parra by Linnasus, contains 

 the jacanas, by some named spur-winged water-hens. The 

 bill is rather longer than the head, nearly straight, laterally 

 compressed, and somewhat enlarged both above and below 

 towards the extremity. There is usually a small fleshy shield 

 upon the base of the forehead. The toes are of great length, 

 very narrow, unwebbed, and the claws, especially the hin- 

 der one, very long and sharp (see Plate CCCC. fig. 7). The 

 anterior angle of the wing is armed with a spur. The jaca- 

 nas occur in the warmer countries of the world — in Ben- 

 gal, Java, the Celebes, China, South America, and parts of 

 Africa. They inhabit marshy places, and run with great 

 facility over the surface of aquatic plants, their long, ex- 

 tended toes spreading over so much space as to prevent 

 their sinking in the water. They feed on insects, build 

 their nests among the moist herbage, and lay four or five 

 greenish eggs spotted with brown. Their flight, though 

 low, is rapid. They are shy and silent birds, except at 

 night, when their voices are often heard among the marshes. 

 The Chinese jacana of Latham (Parra sinensis, Gtnelin) 

 is found both along the marine shores and the moist plains 

 of the interior. This species, as Mr Gould observes, is 

 distinguished not more by grace and beauty of form, than 

 by its admirable adaptation to the particular localities to 

 which nature has allotted it. Formed for traversing the 

 wide morass, or lotus-covered surface of water, it supports 

 itself upon the floating weeds and leaves by its extraordi- 

 nary extent of toes and unusual lightness of body. Like 

 our common water-hen, of whose habits and manners it 

 partakes largely, it is no doubt capable of swimming, al- 

 though the long and pendent tail-feathers seem an incon- 

 venient appendage for such a purpose. Its powers of flight 

 appear deficient, the quill-feathers being terminated by a 

 slender process proceeding from the tip of each shaft. 

 This singular bird has been long known as a native of the 

 low lands of India and other eastern countries, but was 

 not till lately ascertained to occur in the Himalaya, where 

 it inhabits lakes and swamps among the hills. 2 Another 

 eastern species (P. gallinacea, Temm. PI. Col. 464) is 

 provided with a crest, but wants the spurs upon the wings. 



In the genus Palamedea, Linn., the bill is rather short, 

 conical, compressed, convex, and curved at the extremity. 

 There is a bare space around the eyes, the wings are am- 



Gralla- 

 tores. 



American Ornithology, vol. iii. p. 76. 



2 Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains. 



