CHARADRIID.F.. 



543 



THE OYSTER-CATCHER. 



H^MATOPUS ()STRALEGUs, Linnccus. 



The Oyster-catcher inhabits the shores of (Ireat Uritain 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 southwards, and a certain influx of 

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

 seen from that time onwards along the coasts. Owing to the black 

 and white in its plumage a common name is ' Sea-Pie,' while I think 

 that ' catcher ' is an old P^nglish corruption of the Dutch aekstcr 

 (magpie) ; another equally appropriate term being ' Mussel-picker.' 



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 

 and the head of the Adriatic. Throughout the greater part of the 



