434 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



The nasal groove is very broad and shallow, obtuse anteriorly, and not extend- 

 ing beyond the middle of the bill; the lower edge of upper jaw ascends slightly 

 from the middle to near the tip. 



STEEPSILAS INTERPRES. — IlUger. 

 The Turnstone. 



Trhiga interpres, Linnaeus. Syst. Nat., 1. (1766) 248. Wils. Am. Orn , VIL 

 (1813) 32. 



Strepsilas interpres, Illiger. Prod. (1811), 263. Nutt., IL 30. Aud. Orn. Biog., 

 IV. (1838) 31. lb., Birds Am., V. (1842) 231. 



Description. 



Upper parts rather irregularly variegated with black, dark -rufous, and white; 

 head and neck above generally white, with numerous spots and stripes of brownish- 

 black on the crown and occiput; space in front of the eye white, usually surrounded 

 with black ; throat white, on each side of which is a stripe of black running from 

 the base of the bill downwards and joining a large space of the same color (black) 

 on the neck before and breast; abdomen, under wing coverts, under tail coverts, 

 back, and rump, white; quills brownish-black, with their shafts white; tail white at 

 base, with its tenninal half brownish-black, and tipped with white; greater wing 

 coverts widely tipped with white, forming a conspicuous oblique bar across the 

 wing; bill black; legs orange; in winter, the black of the upper parts is more 

 apparent, and the rufous is of less extent and of lighter shade; iris hazel. 



Total length, about nine inches; wing, six; tail, two and a half inches. 



Hab. — Shores of the Atlantic and Pacific, throughout North America. One of 

 the most widely diffused of birds, being found in nearly all parts of the world. 



It is only on the seacoast, and in very small numbers 

 even, that this bird is found in New England as a spring 

 and summer visitor. It occasionally is found in company 

 with some of the Sandpipers and other beach-birds; but 

 usually appears alone, or in parties of two or three, on the 

 beach, or on the shores of sandy rivers that empty into 

 the ocean, near their outlets. It is almost always actively 

 employed in turning over the pebbles and small stones with 

 its strong, sharp bill, beneath which it finds small marine 

 animals and eggs, on which it principally feeds. It also 

 eats greedily, according to Wilson, on tlie eggs of the 

 Horse-shoe, or King Crab, and small shell-fish, and occa- 

 sionally wades into the water for a shrimp or other small 

 animal that is left in a shallow pool by the retiring waves. 

 It breeds on the most northern sections of the continent. 



