NOTES ON THE TURNSTONE. 181 



the Turnstones have again settled. Its piebald 

 plumage and rather pronounced twittering note 

 make it one of the most conspicuous of our shore- 

 birds. Its presence may be calculated upon till about 

 the middle of May, although stragglers, in partial 

 summer dress (probably wounded birds), may 

 occasionally be met with in June and July ; and 

 the return of the species may be expected not later 

 than the first week in August. The Turnstone may 

 be said to be the last of the shore-birds to depart 

 and the first to return. It is plump and fat, rank- 

 ing at table among the daintiest of coast-birds. 



Its name is derived from its well-known habit of 

 displacing small stones and debris that shelter sand- 

 jumpers and other crustaceans. This it accomplishes 

 with its beak, which is of great strength, and of a 

 conical form, pointing upward rather than downward. 



The narration of a circumstance witnessed by Mr. 

 James Mitchell and myself will serve to illustrate 

 the extraordinary strength of the Turnstone's 

 mandibles, and to show that several birds, working 

 in concert and with a common aim, can accomplish 

 feats which would be beyond the strength of an 

 unaided individual. The scene occurred on the sandy 

 shore opposite the " Black Dog," on the north side of 

 Don-mouth, when Mr. Mitchell and I were returning 

 from the River Ythan, where w r e had gone in quest 

 of a vara avis that had been reported the previous 

 day. It was one of those sunny noons in August 

 that make existence itself a luxury ; everything 

 around us seemed bathed in delight ; and our 

 thoughts were so elevated that nothing short of the 

 great object of our excursion would have tempted 

 us to fire a shot. The sky was at its unclouded 

 best ; the sun was clear and hot ; and the whitish 

 breakers that fringed the sea danced miniature 

 rainbows of opalescent hues. The tide had begun 

 to ebb, and we concealed ourselves among the bents, 

 expecting that our prey might turn up with the 

 return of the birds that had been driven from their 



