402 CHARADRID^E. 



though unmusical, harmonized well with the scenery. I 

 had many other opportunities of observing them on the 

 shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was 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 

 the^r remind the spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, 

 and they advance in a line, sometimes in single file, one 

 after another, but more frequently 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 c6ast ; 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 



* " Mussel-catcher " would be a more appropriate name for this 

 bird than that by which it is known ; for it neither has the power 

 of diving in quest of oysters, nor of opening them, if it could 

 obtain any. 



