46 
PLUVIALINiE. (EDICNEMUS. 
low ; tarsus reticulate with hexagonal scales ; toes three, 
short, scutellate, with short basal webs ; claws short, arched, I 
convex, obtuse, that of the middle toe with its inner edge j 
dilated. Plumage soft, moderate, blended ; wings of mode- I 
rate length, pointed ; tail short, graduated or rounded. 
These birds are commonly named Thick-knees ; but as the 
joint from the enlargement of which they have obtained that 
name is not the knee, but the ankle, I cannot but consider 
the appellation incorrect. They are very nearly allied to the 
Plovers, in habits as well as in form, scarcely less so, I think, 
in both, to the Bustards, and especially in having the gape- 
line much farther extended than in the Plovers. The spe- 
cies, which are not numerous, belong to New Holland, Asia, j 
Africa, and part of Europe. They frequent dry open pas- 
tures and deserts, feed on insects, worms, and reptiles, run 
with great speed, and have a strong flight. The nest is a 
hollow in the sand or earth ; the eggs two, oval, and spot- 
ted. The young, at first covered with down, presently ac- 
company their parents. One species is a summer visitant j 
to some of the eastern parts of England. 
166 . (Edicnemus crepitans. Stone Thick-knee. 
Bill shorter than the head, stout, pale-yellow at the base, \ 
black at the end ; feet yellow, claws blackish-brown ; head 
and upper parts pale reddish-yellow, streaked with umber- 
brown, and tinged with grey ; cheeks and throat white ; neck 
and fore part of breast light greyish-yellow, streaked with 
brown, the rest of the lower phrts white, the sides with slen- j 
der brown streaks ; anterior edge of wing cream-coloured ; 
secondary coverts tipped with white ; quills black, the first 
two with a white band near the middle ; tail feathers varie- j 
gated, the outer three on each side reddish-white, all tipped 
with black except the two middle. 
Male, 17? 29, lfy 9 3 T y, 1 T V, &. > 
This bird is a regular summer visitant to some of the j 
eastern counties of England, especially Norfolk, Suffolk, Sus- j 
sex, and Yorkshire, arriving in the beginning of May and de- 
parting in September. It frequents open tracts, feeds on in- i 
sects, worms, and reptiles, runs with great rapidity, is par- 
tially nocturnal, has a rapid flight, and emits a loud shrill 
cry. It forms no nest, but deposits on the ground, usually 
among stones, its two eggs, which are yellowish-brown, patch- 
