Waders, auks and gulls Most of this order are medium-sized waders or shore birds possessing a tufted oil gland. There are 16 families.

Family Jacanidae Jacanas or lily trotters: 7 species Found in the Old and New Worlds in tropical pools, jacanas have very long toes and claws which enable them to walk on water-lilies and other floating leaves. They have a frontal shield on the bill, and sharp horny spurs on the wings.
Family Rostratulidae Painted snipes: 2 species These are long, straight-billed, green-brown birds found in southern Asia, Africa, South America and Australia.
Family Haematopodidae Oyster-catchers: 6 species These noisy birds have long, blunt, flat bills which they use to open shellfish.
Family Charadriidae Plovers: 56 species These plump birds have short bills, slightly swollen at the tip and are found all over the world. They have bold black or brown markings on white. They migrate in flocks of thousands.
Family Scolopacidae Sandpipers: 70 species This is a group of drab-coloured, ground-dwelling waders with thin, straight or down-curved bills.
Family Recurvirostridae Avocets and stilts: 7 species The members of this widely distributed family of long-legged waders have slender legs and very long thin bills. Only the avocets have up-curved bills.
Family Phalaropodidae Phalaropes: 3 species All the phalaropes have lobe-webbed feet and toes like grebes, and thin, straight bills. They nest in the Arctic tundra and winter in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Argentina.
Family Dromadidae There is one species: the crab plover Dromas ardeola which is found on the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It has a long straight pointed bill and partly webbed toes.
Family Burhinidae Stone curlews and thick knees: 9 species All have swollen knee joints, short bills and large eyes. They are found in pebbly areas all over the world.
Family Glareolidae Coursers and pratincoles: 16 species These gregarious, insect-eating, running birds with down-curved bills are found in sandy areas of the Old World. They also feed on fish and seeds.
Family Thinocoridae Seedsnipes: 4 species Seedsnipes are plump short-legged birds with stout, sparrow-like bills and long wings. They are found in tundra in southern South America and in the Andes northwards to the Equator.
Family Chionididae Sheathbills or paddies: 2 species These bold scavengers, found on islands near the Antarctic and some mainland coasts, have a horny, saddle-like sheath over the base of the upper bill. They feed on gulls' eggs and chicks.
Family Stercorariidae Skuas: 4 species Skuas are strong flyers, living mainly in open waters. They breed in the Arctic and Antarctic and winter in the middle latitudes. A horny protuberance on the base of the upper bill, through which the nostrils open, distinguishes them from gulls. They harass seabirds, forcing them to disgorge their food.
Family Laridae Gulls and terns: 82 species Gulls have no fleshy protuberance on their bills and do not migrate as far as the skuas. Terns are smaller and less plump than gulls with narrower wings and thin, sharp bills.
Family Rynchopidae Skimmers: 3 species Skimmers catch fish by flying with the longer lower half of the bill just cutting the surface of the water. The sharp edge of the bill fits into a groove in the upper half of the bill. They are found on Atlantic coasts and by African and southern Asian rivers.
Family Alcidae Auks: 22 species Found in Europe, northern Asia and North America, these short-winged birds, with heavy bodies and legs placed far back, are the Northern Hemisphere's equivalent of penguins. They dive, swim with their wings and fly.

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