CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 45 



The Scotch name of " Mussel Pecker" seems much 

 more appropriate to this bird than that of Oyster 

 Catcher. It might possibly have a chance to make a 

 meal off a few mussels by swallowing some of the 

 smaller shells whole, like an Eider or a Herring Gull, 

 but what use an oyster could possibly be to it, I am 

 at a loss to understand.* 



These birds occasionally collect in immense flocks : 

 I have frequently found at least two or three thousand 

 feeding together on the mudbanks at the Little Ferry, 

 near Golspie, in Sutherland. From never having been 

 disturbed they were perfectly fearless, and would not 

 take the slightest notice of a boat, allowing us to scull 

 past in the punt within five or ten yards, while in 

 pursuit of other fowl. Being of little or no use, I 

 never tried a shot at them with the big gun, though, 

 had I been so inclined, I might easily have bagged 

 from 150 to 200 at a shot. 



The Oyster Catcher chooses a variety of situations for 

 breeding purposes. At the Fern Islands, it lays its 

 eggs on the shingle and sand at a short distance above 

 high- water mark. On several of the Scotch rivers, such 

 as the Spey or the Tay, it nests amongst the rough 

 stones that form the banks of the river, while in some 

 districts in the Highlands it chooses any open spot in 

 either a potato or oat field, where, until the crops get 

 up, it sits plainly in view of everyone that passes 

 within a mile of the spot. I have also seen its 

 eggs on some of the large detached rocks that 



* I have been informed that it frequently crushes the shells of 

 the mussels, and, extracting the fish, leaves the fragments scattered 

 over the rocks, as an irresistible proof of the strength of its beak. 



