Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME V.
FAMILY XXXV. CHARADRIINAE. PLOVERS.
Bill short, straight, subcylindrical, obtusely pointed; upper mandible with
its dorsal line straight for half its length, afterwards convex; nasal groove
bare, extended along two-thirds of the length of the bill. Head of moderate
size, rather compressed, rounded in front. Eyes large. Neck rather short; body
ovate, rather full. Plumage soft, blended, somewhat compact above; wings long,
pointed, with the first quill longest. Tail of moderate length, somewhat
rounded, or with the middle feathers projecting, of twelve feathers. OEsophagus
of moderate width; stomach roundish, compressed, very muscular, with the
epithelium dense and rugous; intestine rather long, and of moderate width, with
rather long coeca. A single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles. Nest on the
ground, shallow; eggs generally four, large, pyriform, spotted. Young densely
covered with down, and able to walk immediately after birth.