CHARADIIFORMES

= **THE FAMILY GROUP** = = = **__variations in the bills of shore birds__**
 *  The Family LARIDAE ||  The Family CHARADRIIDAE ||
 * Gulls, terns, noddies and skimmers form this group from small to medium-sized and large birds performing strong flight and having spectacular hunting behaviour. All are closely related to oceans and seas throughout the world. There are 99 species worldwide. || The bird family **Charadriidae** includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. About 64 to 66 species in all. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are distributed through open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although the [|Inland Dotterel], for example, prefers stony ground in the deserts of central and western Australia ||