333 
Table XXY. (See p. 21.) 
Order 5. Waders. — Tribe 4. Tenuirostres,^ or 
Slender-billed. 
By some naturalists, the birds of this Table have been 
classed amongst the long-hilled birds ( Longirostres , Cu- 
vier) ; hut there can he no impropriety in adhering to the 
arrangement here adopted, as their hills are, without excep- 
tion, more or less slender and flexible, — a character, indeed, 
more generally applicable than length, as some of them are 
by no means long-hilled. 
There are five genera : — 
1. Avosets, 4. Curlews, 
2. Sandpipers, 5. Woodcocks. 
3. Phalaropes, 
Of the first of these birds, the Avosets, there is little to 
he said, one species only being known in England, and this 
confines itself almost entirely to the fen-countries, or southern 
coasts. Its beak is so soft and flexible, that it might he 
mistaken for two thin pieces of whalebone, turned upwards 
considerably for about half its length. It is web-footed, hut, 
as it never swims, the use of the web is supposed to be 
to support it, as it runs lightly over morasses, or soft muddy 
spots. 
* As there is a division of Tenuirostral birds in the Passerine Order, 
this tribe, to avoid confusion, is often designated as Longirostral ; most 
of the birds composing it having long bills. We have adhered, how» 
ever, to Dumeril’s title. 
