CHARADRIID M — THE PLOVERS — VANELLUS. 
129 
d ! . Wing unarmed. 
e'. No trace of bind toe. 
/'. Tail very long (half as long as the wing, or more), extending half its length beyond 
tips of closed wings ; rump and upper tail-coverts pale rufous or ocliraceous in the 
American species. 
6. Oxyechus. Bill slender, about equal in length to the middle toe ; tarsus deci- 
dedly less than twice as long as middle toe ; rump and upper tail-coverts rufous or 
ochraceous (except in 0. tricollaris) . 
f" . Tail short (less than half as long as the wing), reaching little, if any, beyond ends 
of closed wings ; rump concolor with the back. 
7. iEgialitis. Bill variable, but usually shorter than middle toe, or, if longer, very 
slender ; tarsus less than twice as long as middle toe. 
8. Oclithodromus. Bill very large (as long as, or longer than, middle toe), the termi- 
nal half of the culmen much arched, the base of the gonys forming a decided 
angle ; tarsus about one and a half times to nearly twice as long as middle toe. 
9. Podasocys. Bill slender, wide at base, much longer than middle toe ; tarsus more 
than twice as long as middle toe. 
10. Oreophilus. 1 Bill very slender, depressed, nearly twice as long as middle toe ; 
tarsus nearly twice as long as middle toe. Plumage longitudinally striped above. 
d' . A well-developed, though small, hind toe, with curved claw. 
11. Zonibyx. 2 Size small (wing less than six inches) ; plumage plain above, except in 
young. 
d”. Wing armed with a conical spur on the head of the metacarpus. 
12. Hoploxypterus. 3 No trace of hind toe. Size medium; first quill longest; tarsus 
more than twice as long as middle toe. Plumage white beneath, with black pectoral 
collar ; above ashy, varied with black and white in large, rather longitudinal, patches ; 
legs yellow. 
Genus VANELLUS, Beisson. 
Vancllus, Sohaeff. Briss. Orn. V. 1760, 94 (type, Tringa vanellus, Linn.). 
Char. Size large (larger than Squatarola). Bill slender, about equal in length to the mid- 
dle toe, which is about half as long as the tarsus ; a distinct web between outer and middle toes, 
at the base ; a well-developed hind toe, with a small claw. Wings lengthened, but rounded, the 
first quill shorter than the sixth ; the second, third, and fourth nearly equal, and longest. Tail 
slightly emarginated. Occiput (of adult) ornamented by an elongated, slender, recurved crest. 
Plumage of upper parts metallic. 
A single species only of this genus occurs in America, this being the common Lapwing or 
Peewit of Europe (F. cristatus ), which has been found at several localities of Arctic America, 
including both Greenland and Alaska. The South American birds usually referred to Vanellus 
belong to two quite distinct genera ( Belonopterus and Ptiloscelys), distinguished by important 
differences of structure, as tabulated on page 128. 
1 Oreophilus, Jaud. & Selby, Illustr. Orn. pi. 151 (type, 0. totanirostris, Jard. & Selby, = Chara- 
drius ruficollis, Wagl. Hub. Southern South America). 
2 Zonibyx, Reich. Handb. 1851, xviii. (type, Vanellus cinctus, Less., = Oharadrius modestus, Licet. 
Hab. Southern South America). 
3 Hoploxypterus, Bonap. Conipt. Rend. XLIII. 1856, 418 (type, Oharadrius cayanus, Lath. Hab. 
South America. ) 
A nearly allied Old World genus, Hoplopterus, Bonap. ( ty'pe, Oharadrius spinosus, Linn.), differs as 
follows: First primary shorter than the fourth, as in Vanellus and Belonopterus ; wing-spur larger, and 
curved ; the legs almost stilt-like in length (tarsus nearly thrice the middle toe), and black. There is 
also a well-developed web between the outer and middle toes, at the base, hardly indicated at all in 
Hoploxxjpterus. 
VOL. I. — 17 
