| 461. Œdicnemus grallarius | Vol. VI. Pl. 5. |
The birds of this form inhabiting the northern coast have longer legs and shorter wings, and I have no doubt are distinct; but I have not seen a sufficient number of specimens to enable me to affirm that such is actually the case.
Genus Esacus, Less.
The genera Œdicnemus and Esacus are merely modifications of the same form; the variation in that of the bill being expressly adapted for procuring the kinds of food upon which the species respectively subsist; the Œdicnemus frequenting the stony deserts of the interior of the country feeds upon insects of various kinds, and the tender shoots of herbage; while the Esacus, resorting to the salt-marshes and the shores of the sea, lives upon crabs, mollusks and other marine animals.
| 462. Esacus magnirostris | Vol. VI. Pl. 6. |
So far as our knowledge extends, the present bird is confined to the shores of the northern and north-western parts of Australia. It is beautifully represented in India by the E. recurvirostris, and these two species are all that are known to ornithologists.
Genus Hæmatopus, Linn.
I believe that there is no country in the world of any extent the shores of which are not inhabited by one or other of the numerous species of this genus; but it would seem that all those which exist in the southern hemisphere are totally different from those of the northern.
Two species inhabit Australia, viz.
| 463. Hæmatopus longirostris, Vieill. | Vol. VI. Pl. 7. |
| 464. Hæmatopus fuliginosus, Gould | Vol. VI. Pl. 8. |