and fourth are a little shorter. Tail slightly rounded; legs very long and
slender, the lower half of the thigh bare; tarsus covered in front by transverse
plates, behind by several rows of scales ; toes rather short, the middle and
outermost connected at the base by a rudimentary web, hinder toe extremely
short; immediately below the bend of the wing a short curved and pointed
spur.
DIMENSIONS.
Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines-
Length from the point of the bill to Length of the tarsus .......... ...... 3 6
the tip of the tail ........... 13 6 the outer toe .......... ...... 0 10£
of the bill from the angle of the middle toe.......... ..... 1 1
the mouth........................ 1 6 the hinder toe.......... ...... 0
of the wings when folded ... 9 0, the carpal spur ...... ....... 0 5
of the ta il........................... 4 0
In the female the back of the neck is scarcely if at all streaked with brown ;
in other respects the colors of both sexes are alike, only those of the female
are not quite so. bright.
This is the third African species of the genus Vanellus, with which I am acquainted, that
has the head ornamented with membranous wattles, and the only one which has yet, I believe,
been discovered south of the Equator; the other two, Vanellus albicapillus, Vieillot,* and
V . albiceps, Gould,+ are both of Northern Africa. Our species cannot be confounded with the
latter, though it may possibly require a little attention to distinguish it from the former. By
reference to the flanks and femoral coverts, we are at once furnished with the diagnostic
characters; in Vieillot’s species, those are like the other parts of the belly, white; in the
South African species, they are of a very different hue, being a dark slate colour or even
bluish black. Should such differences, however, not be regarded as sufficient to establish them
as two species, numerous other peculiarities are to be readily detected on a careful examination
of the two birds.
Vanellus lateralis, as far as I know, has never been found to approach the southern extremity
of Africa; it would appear to be an inhabitant of the south-east coast, and not to
extend its range west of Port Natal. When about to cross the U’Tugale river, some fifty miles
eastward of Port Natal, I observed two specimens feeding near to the edge of the water, both
of which were procured after great exertions. They manifested extreme watchfulness, always
kept upon the bare sand, and cautiously avoided approaching spots where thickets or any kind
of cover existed from which they might be shot. During their movements to and fro, they
carried their bodies erect and never indulged in any of those jerking motions, which we
observed constantly practised by all the species of P lu v ia n u s . They were discovered to have
been feeding upon water insects, small molluscce, &c.
* Vieillot, Gal. des Oisseaux, Plate 236.
f Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1836, p. 45.