Before I dismiss the Gallinaceous birds, I may mention an interesting fact, of which Mr. Hill informed me; that the Turkey is, as far as European knowledge is concerned, indigenous to the greater Antilles, having been found by the Spanish discoverers, already domesticated by the Indians; and that the European domestic breed is descended from West Indian, and not from North American parentage. This would perhaps tend to confirm, what has been suspected, that the domestic Turkey is specifically distinct from the wild Turkey of North America. +Order.+—GRALLÆ. (_Waders._) +Fam.+—CHARADRIADÆ. (_The Plovers._) SHORT-BILLED PLOVER.[96] _Ægialites melodus._ _Charadrius hiaticula_, +Wils.+—Aud. pl. 220. _Charadrius melodus_, +Ord.+ [96] Length 7 inches, expanse 14¹⁄₂, flexure 4⁵⁄₈, tail 2³⁄₁₀, rictus ⁵⁄₁₀, tarsus 1, middle toe 1⁷⁄₂₀. Intestine 14 inches: two cæca, 1 inch long. I have nothing to add to Wilson’s memoir of this little bird. About the beginning of November, they arrive in Jamaica from the north; after which they may be seen running swiftly on the mud of morasses, and on the sea-beach, in company with Sand-pipers. They feed on small mollusca, worms, &c. KILDEER PLOVER.[97] _Tilderee._—_Tell-tale._ _Ægialites vociferus._ _Charadrius vociferus_, +Linn.+—Aud. pl. 225. _Ægialites vociferus_, +Boie+. [97] Length 9¹⁄₂ inches, expanse 18, flexure 5¹⁄₂, tail 3³⁄₁₀, rictus ⁸⁄₁₀, tarsus 1⁶⁄₁₀, middle toe ¹⁹⁄₂₀. It is in the large open pastures of the lowlands that the Tell-tale dwells. The traveller, as he passes along, is startled by the sudden rise of a dozen or twenty of these birds, almost from under his feet, before unseen, but now manifesting their presence by the shrillest cries, as they wheel swiftly round in a large circle, alighting near the spot whence they arose. In winter great numbers flock to the stony plains, which flying in a dense body afford a fair mark to the sportsman, by whom their flesh is esteemed. The majority of these birds seem to be merely winter visitants, but a few certainly do remain with us through the summer. Robinson says, they lay their eggs among the stones near the rivulets.