[Illustration: SPOONBILL.]
The Birds which belong to this family differ greatly in the length of
their legs—which seems to be the main characteristic of the Waders. In
fact, some of these Birds seem to form a sort of connecting link between
the Waders and the Domestic Fowls, in the form of the bill as well as in
the length of the leg. Among them are the Golden-breasted Trumpeter, the
Cariama, the Oyster-catcher, the Plovers, the Lapwing, the Coursers, the
Dotterel, and the Bustard.