Toes not lobate. Tarsi not notably compressed.
Legs extremely long; the tarsus equalling or exceeding the
tail, and feet either four-toed and palmate (_Recurvirostra_),
or three-toed and semipalmate (_Himantopus_); with the bill
much longer than the head, very slender, acute, and curved
upward … _Recurvirostridæ_.
Legs moderate, stout. Tarsus shorter than tail. Bill hard, more
or less contracted at base, with short nasal fossa, gonydeal
angle, and ascending gonys, the tip either compressed and
truncate or depressed and acute. Feet three-toed and with basal
webbing (_Hæmatopus_), or four-toed and cleft (_Strepsilas_) …
_Hæmatopodidæ_.
Legs moderate. Tarsus shorter than tail, reticulate. Hind toe
wanting (except in _Squatarola_, where very small, and in
_Aphriza_). Bill short, straight,—not exceeding the head
(generally shorter),—shaped like a pigeon’s, with short,
broad, soft nasal fossæ separated by a constriction from the
enlarged, obtuse, horny terminal part. Head large, globose,
contracting suddenly to the bill. Neck short … _Charadriidæ_.
Legs moderate. Tarsus shorter than tail, scutellate. Hind toe
present. Bill long,—equalling, or oftener exceeding,
frequently several times longer than, the head; softish and
membranous to the very tip, without constriction in its
continuity; straight or variously curved … _Scolopacidæ_.
Toes lobate. Tarsi notably compressed.
General characters of _Scolopacidæ_. Body depressed; the under
plumage thickened, duck-like. Habits natatorial … _Phalaropodidæ_.