OYSTER CATCHER 249 
once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one 
served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and 
herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing- 
village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish 
pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. 
The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour, 
Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks 
of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of 
the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, 
worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds 
while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing 
their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the 
spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in 
a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more fre- 
quently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a 
circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud- 
banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance 
inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake 
themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also 
been observed many miles away from the coast; but this is a rare 
occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among 
the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they 
make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and 
scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young 
are able to run soon after breaking the shell. 
In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their 
breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; con- 
sequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an 
asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their 
native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they 
are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in 
winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by 
thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to 
pass the night. One of these is what is called the ‘‘ Eastern point ”’ 
of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult 
of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at 
all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. ~ 
Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, 
all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line 
of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all ad- 
vancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company 
being at the same height above the water. They are very wary 
at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many 
thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore 
birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single 
Oyster Catcher was brought to me. 
A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate 
