OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 121 



Subfamily H/EMATOPODIN/E.-The Oyster-catchers. 



The Oyster-catchers may be distinguished from other members of the 

 CHARADEIIDM by the peculiarities of the bill, which exhibits no dertrum or 

 swelling near the tips of the mandibles, and the genys or angle of the lower 

 mandible is situated near the base. The bill in this subfamily is further 

 characterised by being greatly compressed, and the nasal groove, as in all the 

 typical Plovers, does not extend beyond half the length of the culmen. A 

 further character is the reticulated metatarsus. This subfamily contains but a 

 single genus. 



Genus H/EMATOPUS, or Oyster=catchers. 



Type, ELEMATOPUS OSTEALBGUS. 



HasmatopUS, of Linnaeus (1766). The birds comprising the present genus 

 are characterised by their combining a finely reticulated metatarsus with a nearly 

 straight bill, which is longer than it. The wings are long and pointed, the tail is 

 nearly square. The metatarsus is rather short, and the lower portion of the 

 tibia is devoid of feathers. Three toes in front, all directed forward; hind toe 

 absent. The bill is straight, strong, and compressed at the point, forming a 

 wedge ; truncate at the tip, clumsy, and very variable in outline ; nostrils basal, 

 linear, and situated in a groove. 



This genus is composed of twelve species and subspecies, which are distributed 

 throughout the world. One species is a common resident in the British Islands. 



The Oyster-catchers are dwellers on the coasts of seas and on the banks of rivers 

 and lakes. Their flight is rapid and well-sustained ; they are able to swim ; and 

 run and walk with ease. Their notes are loud and piercing, and they subsist on 

 mollusks, marine worms, and insects, small fish, and littoral plants. Mere 

 hollows in the sand or shingle serve for nests, and their eggs, three or four in 

 number, are double-spotted. They are monogamous, are more or less social 

 throughout the year, but always excessively wary and shy. 



