100 
NATURAL HISTORY. [EAST. ZOOL, 
The family of Snipes ( Scolopacidce , Cases 127—129) 
have a long soft bill, and no hind toe, or only a very short 
one, scarcely reaching the ground. They generally live 
in marshy places, or on the sea-shore, feeding on worms. 
Some have the end of the bill covered with a leathery 
skin, and the nasal grooves extended to the end, as 
the Ibis and Sand-pipers (Tringa), the former having 
a long, curved bill, the latter a short and straight one ; 
from these the Sanderlings ( Calidris ) differ merely in 
having but three toes. The true Snipes ( Scolopaoc ) 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 ( Himantopus ), which have very long legs and 
but three toes : the Avocets have the bill curved upwards 
and the feet half webbed, whilst in the Chevaliers ( Limosa ) 
it is slender, rounded, and slightly recurved. 
The family of Rails* {Railidee), whose habits are, of all 
these birds, the most aquatic, have many of the characters 
of the next order; their toes are long and slender, and 
the hind one is placed on a level with the others. The 
body is compressed. The Jacana has the claws long and 
straight, and the bend of the wing armed with a spine; 
the Screamers are remarkable for a horn on the centre 
of the head. Others have short claws and unarmed 
wings; as the Coot which has the edge of the toes fringed 
with a lobed membrane; and the Gallinules, Taleves, and 
Rails, which have them simple. 
The Web-footed or Aquatic Birds (Anseres, 
Linn.) have their feet placed on the hinder part of the body, 
with short compressed tarsi, and the toes united together 
by a web ; their plumage is close, shining, and oily, and 
they live chiefly on fish, mollusca, and insects. 
The family of Ducks {Anatidce) have short or moderate 
wings, their bill covered with a soft skin, and furnished 
on the edge with a series of plates, through which they 
filter the water, and thus separate their food. The Swans 
and Geese have beautifully formed, long necks; the 
Cereopsis has the base of the beak covered by a yellow skin, 
* The families of raptorial and aquatic birds, although here described, 
are only in progress of bringing into the Gallery. 
