94 
ROOM XIII. rather higher, and the middle claw entire. The form 
Nat- Hist ar, d s ^ ze ^e kill vary greatly in the birds of this 
family. In the Adjutants it is large, and furnished 
with a sort of throat-pouch; in the Wood Ibis it is 
slightly curved, and in the Spoonbill the extremity of 
the beak is flat and rounded. Many of these birds have 
a tuft of very soft feathers on the under side of the tail; 
the Adjutants furnish the celebrated Cornacauly feathers. 
The Snipes (Cases 62 and 63) have a long, soft bill, 
and no hind toe, or only a very short one. Some have 
the end of the bill covered with a leathery skin, and 
the nasal grooves extended to the end of the beak, as 
the Ibis and Sandpiper, the former having a long, curved 
bill, the latter a short and straight one; from these 
the Sanderlings differ merely in having three toes. 
The true Snipes have the end of the beak sensible and 
spongy, and furnished with a central longitudinal 
groove: in others the nasal groove extends only half 
the length of the beak, as in the Longshanks, which 
have very long legs and three toes: the Avocets 
have the bill curved upwards and the feet half-webbed ; 
whilst in the Chevaliers it is slender, rounded, and 
slightly recurved. Others have the base of the beak 
flexible, and the end hard and covered with a horny 
sheath, as the Plovers (Case 64) which have three, and 
the Lapwing which has four toes. The Turnstones dif¬ 
fer from the Lapwings by the end of the beak being com¬ 
pressed, so as to enable them to find their food under 
stones. The Oyster-Catcher has a strong leg, and the 
beak, like the former, compressed on the sides. 
In Cases 65 —68, Ostrich;—Bustards, which in 
many respects are allied to the Gallinaceous birds,— 
Foot, and a cast of the head of the Dodo—(see p. 97,) 
—Plovers, Courser, and Pratincole. 
The family of Cranes (Cases 68 and 69) have a rather 
short hind toe, much higher on the leg than the front 
one, and a strong, hard, rather long and oval beak. 
The Balearic Cranes have large open nostrils, naked 
cheeks, and throat-wattles. The Cariama and Trum¬ 
peters 
