Fam. 11. Reptilian Birds, Grallæ or Waders.
Legs, neck, and bill very long.
These Birds are a lively image of, or a composition from, the Reptilia, having a Frog's body with its long feet, and a Serpent's neck with a Tortoise's head.
They wade about in marshes to catch worms and fish; have also bills of very varied structure, yet generally very long and slender, being in some cases naked, in others covered with a skin.
Fam. 12. Typical Birds, Gallinæ.
Bill and legs shorter, the former being arched, the latter armed with strong toes for scraping.
Feed usually upon grains and worms, and live in dry situations. The Marsh-hens pass at once into the true Fowls, and these are attached, like as is no other family, through their capacity for domestication, to Man.
Order 5. Sensorial Birds.
Fam. 13. Thricozooid Birds, Bustards.