152 Short Communications: — 



the sea-pie voluntarily take the water; but, as noticed in 

 Rennie's Montagu, it swims well. On the coast, one stormy 

 day, I winged one, which fell into the water, and I expected 

 would be cast ashore ; but, to my surprise, it swam vigorously 

 through a heavy surf, and got clear out to sea. — A Subscriber. 

 Vale of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Sept. 28. 1832. 



A puzzling Specimen of the Oyster-catcher (Hamatopus 

 ostrdlegus L.). — A bird was lately shot in the vicinity of 

 Downton Castle, county of Hereford, the seat of T. A. 

 Knight, Esq., by the gamekeeper, of a kind which, we believe, 

 has not been described by any ornithologist as a British 

 species. The size is that of the curlew, and its weight about 

 two pounds ; the beak, in length and form, similar to that of 

 a woodcock, but a little stronger, the colour at the base being 

 bright orange, and gradually appearing paler or more dusky 

 to the point; the head and neck black, with a white stripe 

 under each eye, and many white feathers, mixed with a few 

 black, under the throat; wings black, with the exception of 

 the middle and lowest feathers, which are white ; feathers of 

 the body as white as snow, with the exception of those of the 

 tail, which are tipped with black ; legs similar to those of the 

 bustard, having three toes only, and those pointing forward. 

 (Hereford Journal.) 



The foregoing, with a slight alteration (not connected with 

 the description of the bird), was copied from the Hereford Jour- 

 nal of Dec. 5. 1832. In a letter addressed to me on the 

 subject, by T. A. Knight, Esq., he observes " that the bird ap- 

 pears to have been an overgrown individual of the Haematopus 

 ostralegus L. ; though its beak bears little resemblance to that 

 given in Bewick's plate, and is extremely ill calculated for the 

 purpose to which he supposes it to be applied : it terminates 

 like that of the woodcock. In genus, this bird appears to me 

 to be allied, almost in an equal degree, to those of A^colopax, 

 Tringa, and Charadrius. It is an extremely expert diver." 



I forward this for insertion, in the hope that some cor- 

 respondent may be enabled to distinguish whether it is a 

 new species of bird, or one already known to naturalists. — 

 John Evans. Grove Place, Tything, Worcester, Jan. 26. 1833. 



The bird here described is, as stated, the oyster-catcher, 

 Haematopus ostralegus, though the weight is greater than 

 that usually assigned to the species. The beak, from a side 

 view, has the appearance of being blunt at the point,- but is 

 so compressed laterally as to be but little thicker than an ivory 

 paper-cutter, admirably adapted for being pushed in between 

 the shells of muscles, oysters, and other bivalves, the soft 

 animals of which are the principal food of this species. 



