80 
NATURAL HISTORY. [UPPER FLOOR. 
strong, hard, rather long and oval beak. The Balearic 
Cranes have large open nostrils, naked cheeks, and throat- 
wattles. The Cariamaand Trumpeters have short beaks: 
the former has much the air of a raptorial bird, and the 
latter is peculiar for the metallic brilliancy of its plumage. 
The Herons have the nostrils linear and covered with a 
thin skin, situated at the base of an indistinct, narrow 
groove (Cases 62—86) ; the bill is hard, the hind toe low 
down, and the middle claw toothed on the edge ; as in the 
genera Heron, Night Heron, and Crab-eater, which only 
differ from each other by the size of the beak. 
The Snipes (Cases 67 and 68) 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 Sand¬ 
piper, 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 ex¬ 
tends only half the length of the beak, as in the Long¬ 
shanks, 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 69), which have three, and the Lap¬ 
wing, which has four toes. The Turnstones differ from the 
Lapwings by the end of the beak being compressed, 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. 
The family of Rails (Cases 78 and 71)> whose habits are, 
of all these birds, the most aquatic, have many characters 
of the next order; their toes are long and slender, and 
the hind one is placed on a level with the others. The 
Jacana lias the claws long and straight, and the bend of 
the wing armed with a spine; the Screamers are remark¬ 
able for the horn on the centre of the head. Others, as 
the Coot, have short claws and unarmed wings, and the 
edge of the toes fringed with a lobed membrane; the Gal- 
linules, Taleves, and Rails, have the toes simple. 
