ORDER 



CURSORES. 



Rostrum aut mediocre, aut capite longius, apice aut obtuso, vel 



acuto, interdtm cuneato, 

 Alje volatui nptce. 



Pedes longiores, tridactyli ; digiti vel ad imum Jissi, vel extC' 

 riores basi membrand connexi j Jemora in parte inferiore de- 

 nudata. 



Beak medial, or longer than the head 5 the tip obtuse or pointed, 



sometimes wedge-shaped. 

 Wings formed for flight. 



Legs long j three-toed 5 the toes cleft to their origin, or the 

 outer ones connected by a membrane at the base ; the lower 

 part of the thighs naked. 



The Bustards and Thick-knees, which form a 

 division in this order, are included by Latham 

 among the Gallinaceae, and the rest of the genera 

 are placed with the Grallae. The former live in 

 open plains, and are polygamous, the Thick-knees 

 excepted, which live in pairs : their food consists 

 of herbs, seeds, and insects : the latter reside on 

 tlie gravelly borders of rivers, in pairs, subsisting 

 upon aquatic insects and worms. 



In the subsequent account of this and the fol- 

 lowing orders, I have omitted many of the species 

 described by Latham, they having been inserted 

 in his Synopsis from the concise and vague de- 

 scriptions of various travellers. 



