t9o4- Notes. 295 



Swimming Powers of the Oyster-catcher. 



I was much struck with the swimming powers of an Oyster-catcher 

 {Hce/fialopus ostralegns), which I witnessed at the North Bull, Dublin Bay, 

 when in company with Messrs. A. and B. Williams, on October 23, 1904 

 The bird, when we first saw it, was wading along the water's edge, and 

 as we mounted the sand-hills and appeared in full view it commenced to 

 race along the beach for a short distance and then took to the water. 

 It was slightly wounded, and unable to fly. Swiftly and strongly it 

 headed out to sea, retreating from us as we ran down to the water's 

 edge to intercept a gunner who was approaching us along the shore and 

 who, we were afraid, would seal the poor bird's fate before it' could swim 

 out of gunshot range. Happily, however, fully 80 yards of water were 

 traversed ere the shooter arrived opposite it, and by diverting his 

 attention we managed to get him to pass by the bird without observing, 

 it Next w^e directed our gaze seawards and descried ,the Oyster-catcher 

 as a small dark object bobbing up and down on the waves some 200 

 yards from the shore. We expected it would reach a sand-bank about 

 to be laid bare by the ebbing tide ; instead of this, however, it retraced 

 its course and headed for the beach, swimming strongly against the tide. 

 Seeking ambush amid the rushes of the sand-dunes, we watched the 

 bird swim in. Directly it landed I rushed after it barefooted (lest the 

 bird might take to the water a second time), and after an exciting chase 

 along the shore succeeded in capturing it. On examination the bird 

 proved to be a beautiful adult in fine plumage and only slightly injured 

 in the right w4ng. Curiously enough, the rich crimson pigment was 

 absent over a small area of the iris, giving to the pupil an irregular and 

 rather jagged outline This condition was symmetrical in both eyes. In 

 the afternoon I took the bird to the Dublin Zoological Gardens, where it 

 is to be hoped it will have a happy time and end its days in peace. 



I noticed that the wing had healed considerably, so that the bird had 

 probably been living a week or more in a disabled condition on the 

 beach before I captured it. Thew'ouder is how it escaped, as wounded 

 birds have to run the gauntlet of being attacked by many enemies — Man 

 Dogs, Hawks, Skuas, and the larger Seagulls. For instance, during the 

 .short time that we saw it on the water, a flock of screaming Herring- 

 Gulls passed over it. Their cries attracted a Great Black-backed Gull, 

 which made a few nasty swoops at the poor Oyster-catcher. Indeed I 

 doubt if the latter would have reached the shore alive had not a few 

 Herring-gulls mobbed the assailant, driving him off with angry threats. 

 It is interesting to note that it was directly after the Gulls cleared awaj 

 the Oyster-catcher began to swim for the shore. Question— Could the 

 bird have apprehended further danger on the water or was it simply 

 exhaustion that drove it ashore ? Or both ? I may add that I have 

 repeatedly seen several species of lyimicoline birds swim, generally but 

 not always to escape danger, and usually for shorter distances than the 

 above instance which I have recorded. 



University College, Sheffield. 



C. J. Patten. 



