CHARADRlID.t. 



559 



THE OYSTER-CATCHER. 



H.EMATOPUS osTRALEGus, Linnaeus. 



The Oyster-catcher inhabits the shores of Great Britain and 

 Ireland throughout the year, exhibiting a marked preference for 

 sandy bays, stretches of low flat rocks mixed with shingle, and 

 mussel-scalps ; but it often occurs inland, and in Scotland it nests 

 on all the large rivers and many of their tributaries on the east side, 

 and along the Lochy in the west. In autumn the birds which have 

 bred in the north pass southward, and a certain influx of visitors 

 from the Continent takes place, so that large flocks may be seen 

 from that time onward along the coasts. Owing to the black and 

 white in its plumage, a common name for the bird is " Sea-Pie," 

 while I think that ' catcher ' is a corruption of the Dutch aekster 

 (magpie). Another appropriate term is ' Mussel-picker,' and in the 

 south-east of England " Olive " is applied. 



To Greenland this species is merely a straggler, but it is resident 

 in the southern districts of Iceland, and occurs in summer on the 

 coasts of Europe, from the North Cape to the delta of the Rhone 



