OTINiE. CURSORIUS. 
41 
GENUS LXXXYI. CURSORIUS. COURSER. 
The species which constitute this genus are of small size 
and slender form, with the neck rather short, the head ob- 
long, and little elevated in front. Bill somewhat shorter 
than the head, slender, tapering, nearly straight or a little 
arched, somewhat broader than high at the base, compressed 
toward the end ; upper mandible with the dorsal line straigh t 
for two-thirds of its length, then arcuato-declinate, the ridge 
somewhat carinate, the edges sharp, the tip acute, without 
notch ; lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the 
dorsal line decurved, the edges sharp, the tip narrow, but 
rather blunt. Tongue slender, emarginate and papillate at 
the base, flattened above, with a medial groove, the tip thin, 
narrow, but obtuse. Nostrils subbasal, lateral, oblong, in 
the fore part of the rather short sinus. Eyes of moderate 
; size. Aperture of ear rather large. Legs long, slender ; 
tibia bare for a third, scutellate before, with two rows of 
scales behind ; tarsus slender, compressed, anteriorly scutel- 
I late ; hind toe wanting ; anterior toes short, the fourth much 
longer than the second, all scutellate above, the middle and 
outer connected by a narrow basal membrane ; claws small, 
slender, little arched, acute, that of the middle toe with a 
dilated inner edge. Plumage moderate, soft, blended ; wings 
long, narrow, acute, the first and second quills about equal, 
the inner secondaries much elongated ; tail short or mode- 
rate, slightly rounded or even, of twelve obtuse feathers. 
The Coursers belong to the warmer regions of the Old 
Continent, inhabiting chiefly the sandy deserts. They run 
with extreme celerity, and have a rapid flight. Small as 
they are, they seem more allied in form to the Bustards than 
i the Plovers. A very few individuals of a single species have 
been met with in England. 
164 . CURSORIUS IS ABELLINUS. CREAM-COLOURED COURSER. 
Adult with the bill black, the feet yellowish ; the plumage 
pale brownish-yellow, lighter on the lower parts ; the fore 
part of the head reddish, the hind part grey, with a triangular 
black spot on the nape ; two bands, a white and a black, from 
