File:The genera of birds (18705479554).jpg

Order VII. GRALL^i.
Family III. Scolopaciive.
The sixth Subfamily,
PHALAROPODINiE, or Phalaropes,
have the Bill as long as, or longer than, the head, more or less slender and straight ; the culmen straight,
except at the tip, which is curved ; the sides of the upper mandible grooved for nearly its whole length ;
the Nostrils placed in the lateral groove, with the opening linear : the Wings long and pointed : the
Tail short and rounded : the Tarsi short, and more or less robust : the Toes moderate, united at the
base, and more or less lobed on the sides to the tips ; the hind toe short, elevated, and margined slightly
by a narrow membrane.
Phalaropus Briss.*
Bill as long as, or longer than, the head, more or less slender, but sometimes enlarged and depressed
towards the tip, which is curved and acute ; the sides grooved for nearly its whole length, in which
groove the nostrils are placed, with the opening basal, linear, and partly closed by a membrane. Wings
long and pointed, with the first and second quills equal and longest. Tail more or less short and
rounded. Tarsi as long as, or longer than, the middle toe, rather robust and compressed. Toes long ; the
lateral toes united to the middle by a membrane that runs along the margin of each toe, which is more
or less lobed ; the hind toe moderate, elevated, and slightly margined by a membrane ; the claws short
and acute.
The species are inhabitants of the northern regions, but migrating to the more temperate climes during severe
winters. They are usually observed in pairs, or in small parties, swimming about on the sea, or on lakes, ponds, and
streams of fresh water, generally near the margins, moving quickly in search of floating seeds, aquatic insects, and small
crustaceous animals, on which they subsist. They swim with the greatest facility and swiftness, and their flight is rapid
and elevated in the air. The female deposits four eggs among a tuft of herbage in the marshes.
1. P. fulicarius (Linn.) Cuv. Edwards's Birds, pi. 14:2. — Pha-
laropus rufus Bechst. ; Ph. platyrhynchos Temm. ; Ph. rufescens
Briss. Gould, B. of Eur. pi. 337. ; Tringa lobata Lepcchin ; Tr.
glacialis Gmel. Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 255., Wils. Amer. Orn. pi.
73. f. 4., Gal. des Ois. t. 270., Pall. Zoogr. ii. p. 205. t. 63.
2. P. hyperboreus (Linn.) Cuv. PI. enl. 766., Edwards's Birds,
pi. 143. — Phalaropus cinereus Briss. ; Ph. angustirostris Naum. ;
Ph. ruficollis Pall. Zoogr. ii. p. 203. t. 6"2. ; Ph. cinerascens Pall. ;
Tringa fusca Gmel. Edwards's Birds, pi. 46. ; Tr. lobata Linn.
Edwards's Birds, pi. 308., Gould, B. of Eur. pi. 336., Audub. B. of
Amer. pi. 254.; Type of Lobipes Cuv. (1817).
3. P. Wilsonii Sab. Faun. Bor. Amer. Birds, pi. 69. — Phala-
ropus lobatus Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. 73. f. 3. ; Lobipes incanus
Jard. Si Sellnj, Illustr. of Orn. pi. 16. ; Ph. frenatus Vieill. Gal.
des Ois. t. 271. ; Ph. fimbriatus Temm. PI. col. 270.; Ph. steno-
dactylus Wagl. Isis (1831), p. 525. ? Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 254. ;
Type of Holopodius Pr. Bonap. (1828).

• Established by Brisson in 1760 (Ornithologie, vi. p. 12.). Crymophilus of Vieillot ( 1 8 1 6) is coequal. It embraces Lobipes of Cuvier
  

(1817), Holopodius of the Prince of Canino (1828), and Amblyrhynchus of Mr. Nuttall (1834).