THE PLOVERS. 165 



like Bombay and is too striking and handsome to 

 escape notice. I mean the Oyster-catcher, or Sea Pie. 

 Why it should be called an Oyster-catcher I cannot 

 guess, for I do not think it feeds on oysters, and 

 oysters do not need much catching. But the other 

 name, Sea Pie, is good, and is almost sufficient to 

 recognise it by. Its breast and under parts, with the 

 lower back and a broad band on the wings, are pure 

 white, and all the rest is pure black. It is a large 

 bird, not so big as a Curlew, but bigger than a Lap- 

 wing. All the books speak of it as a winter visitant, 

 and Mr. Blanford says that it breeds in Northern 

 Europe and on the Caspian, but I have seen a 

 flock of fifteen or more, not far from Bombay, on the 

 29th of June, looking very much at home. So there 

 may be something still to be discovered about their 

 habits. The name of this bird in science is Hcematopus 

 ostralegus. 





