PIPING PLOVER. 405 
lis species, which he undoubtedly would have done had he 
lived to publish himself the index to the water birds, as, in 
some instances, he supplied similar deficiencies for the land 
birds. Mr Ord has, however, filled this void by calling the 
bird C. melodus, which appropriate name we feel bound to 
adopt ; and the more so, as Mr Ord informs us that it would 
have been Wilson’s own choice. Almost simultaneously with 
our endeavours in this country for permanently fixing the 
species, Dr Wagler in Europe, on his part, was also giving it 
a name, so that it is now furnished with two. 
In the circumstance of its imner toe being cleft to the base, 
this bird approaches more closely to C. hiaticula of Europe 
than to C. semipalmatus ; but in colours it differs greatly 
from these so similar species, and the membrane that connects 
the outer toe is considerably smaller than in any. The 
synonyms of Wilson do not, of course, apply to this new 
species ; and, what is worse, though this is common to all 
writers upon the ring-plover, they do not belong to one and 
the same species. 
Although, without doubt, related to the Tringce, which are 
Scolopacide, the plovers belong to another family, that of the 
Pressirostres of Cuvier—which may be called Charadride— 
and through Otis and Gidicnemus these waders are connected 
somewhat with the gallinaceous birds. This natural family 
of ours—very different from the artificial one formed by so 
many authors for the three-toed waders indiscriminately, and 
adopted under the name Charadriade by the new English 
school, though professing to adhere to a natural arrangement 
—is well distinguished by its short (or moderately so) rather 
robust bill, the hind toe wanting, or when present, very short. 
It is composed of but eight genera, of which only three are 
found in North America, two aberrant, and the present, the 
only typical American, which is well distinguished by its bill, 
very short, rounded, obtuse, and somewhat turgid at tip. In 
order to exemplify how different from that of authors is this 
family, as we understand it, we may remark that the birds 
VOL. Il, 26 
