in ornithology, a genus belonging to the order of grallae. The beak is cylindrical and blunt; the nostrils are linear; and the feet have three toes. There are 12 species, viz.
1. The Hiaticula, or Sea-lark of Ray, has a black breast; a white streak along the front; the top of the head is brown; and the legs and beak are reddish. It is found on the shores of Europe and America. They frequent our shores in the summer, but are not numerous. They lay four eggs, of a dull whitish colour, sparingly sprinkled with black: at approach of winter they disappear.
2. The Alexandrinus, or Alexandrian Dotterel, is of a brownish colour, with the forehead, collar, and belly white; the prime tail-feathers on both sides are white; and the legs are black. It is about the size of a lark, and lives upon insects.
3. The Vociferus, or Noisy Plover of Catesby, has black streaks on the breast, neck, forehead, and cheeks; and the feet are yellow. It is a native of North America.
4. The Aegyptius has a black streak on the breast, Charadrius white eye-brows, the prime tail-feathers streaked with black at the points, and bluish legs. It is found in the plains of Egypt, and feeds on insects.
5. The Morinellus has an iron-coloured breast, a small white streak on the breast and eye-brows, and black legs. It is the Dotterel of Ray, and a native of Europe. They are found in Cambridgehire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire: on Lincoln-heath, and on the moors of Derbyshire, they are migratory; appearing there in small flocks of eight or ten only in the latter end of April, and stay there all May and part of June, during which time they are very fat, and much esteemed for their delicate flavour. In the months of April and September, they are taken on the Wilshire and Berkshire downs: they are also found in the beginning of the former month on the sea-side at Meales in Lancashire, and continue there about three weeks, attending the barley fallows: from thence they remove northward to a place called Leyton Hawe, and stay there about a fortnight; but where they breed, or where they reside during the winter, we have not been able to discover. They are reckoned very foolish birds, so that a dull fellow is proverbially flayed a dotterel. They were also believed to mimic the action of the fowler, to stretch out a wing when he stretches out an arm, &c., continuing their imitation, regardless of the net that is spreading for them.
To this method of taking them, Michael Drayton alludes in his panegyrical verses on Corydon's Gradines:
Most worthy man, with thee it is ev'n thus, As men take dot'trel, so half thou ta'en us; Which as a man his arm or leg doth set, So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.
At present sportmen watch the arrival of the dotterels, and shoot them; the other method having been long disused.
6. The Apricarius has a black belly; the body is brown, and variegated with white and yellow spots; and the legs are ash-coloured. It is the spotted Plover of Edwards, and a native of Canada.
7. The Pluvialis is black above, with green spots, white underneath, and the feet are ash-coloured. It is the green Plover of Ray, and is a native of Europe. They lay four eggs, sharply pointed at the lesser end, of a dirty white colour, and irregularly marked, especially at the thicker end, with blotches and spots. It breeds on several of our unfrequented mountains; and is very common on those of the isle of Rum, and others of the loftier Hebrides. They make a shrill whistling noise; and may be enticed within shot by a skilful imitator of the note.
8. The Torquatus has a black breast, and a white front; the top of the head and the collar is black; and the beak and feet are bluish. It is a native of St Domingo.
9. The Calidris has black feet, and a black bill; the rump is greyish; and the body is pure white below. It frequents the shores of Europe.
10. The Codicenus, or Stone-curlew of Ray, is of a grey colour, with two of the prime wing-feathers black, but white in the middle; it has a sharp bill, and ash-coloured feet; and is about the size of a crow. In Hampshire, Norfolk, and on Lincoln-heath, it is called called the stone-curlew, from a similarity of colours to the curlew. It breeds in some places in rabbet-burrows; also among stones on the bare ground, laying two eggs of a copper colour spotted with a darker red. The young run soon after they are hatched. These birds feed in the night on worms and caterpillars; they will also eat toads, and will catch mice. They inhabit fallow lands and downs; affect dry places, never being seen near any waters. When they fly, they extend their legs straight out behind; are very shy birds; run far before they take to wing; and often squat; are generally seen single; and are esteemed very delicate food. — Hafflquift informs us, that this bird is also "met with in Lower Egypt, in the Acacia groves, near the villages Abufr and Sackhara, near the sepulchres of the ancient Egyptians, and in the deserts. The Arabians call it Kervan. It has a shrill voice, somewhat resembling that of the black woodpecker which it raises and lowers successively, uttering agreeable notes. The Turks and Egyptians value it much if they can get it alive; and keep it in a cage for the sake of its singing. Its flesh is hard, and of a very good taste, inclined to aromatic. It is a very voracious bird, catching and devouring rats and mice, which abound in Egypt. It seldom drinks; and when taken young, and kept in a cage in Egypt, they give it no water for several months, but feed it with fresh meat macerated in water, which it devours very greedily. It is found in deserts, and is therefore accustomed to be without water.
11. The Himantopus is white below, with a black back, and a long black bill; the feet are red, and very long. It is the autumnal dotterel of the English authors, and frequents the sea-shores of Europe. It is also found in the lakes of Egypt in the month of October.
12. The Spinicus, armed Dotterel, or Lapwing, has a black breast, legs, and wings; it has a crest on the hinder part of the head. It is of the size of a pigeon; the French call it dominicanus, from the resemblance it has to the dress of a Dominican monk. It is a native of Egypt.