54 TTJE]S T STO]S'E. 



on the occasion to take away life from these interesting beings 

 at the very moment when they were exercising, in a manner 

 so happy for themselves, the wonderful instincts implanted 

 in them by their great and ever merciful Creator. When 

 they appeared to have done and to be satisfied, I arose from 

 my place of concealment. On examining the fish, I found 

 it to be a specimen of the common cod; it was nearly three 

 feet and a half long, and it had been embedded in the sand 

 to about the depth of two inches.' 



Meyer observes, 'The general appearance of the Turnstone 

 is very handsome, owing as much to its figure as to its gay 

 apparel; its motions on the ground are graceful and dexterous; 

 it runs much like the Lapwing, every now and then stopping 

 short to rest or pick up food, especially when it has 

 reached any elevation, either large or small; it is able to run 

 very fast, and does so when pursued before it takes wing. 

 Its flight is elegant and quick, performed generally with 

 half-extended wings that are considerably curved; its evolutions 

 are very dexterous, skimming either close over the water or 

 ground, and rising high in the air it seems to depart, when, 

 on a sudden, it returns again to the spot.' 



Their food consists of marine insects and their larvae, beetles, 

 and small Crustacea, and these are obtained either among 

 the sea-weed or the rocks left dry at low water, by turning 

 over stones on the beach with the beak whence the name 

 of the bird. During the time of high water, too, they resort 

 to the lands that border on the shore, and there pick about 

 in search of beetles, worms, and other such. 



The note, uttered frequently when flying, is a clear twittering 

 or whistling cry. 



The time of breeding is about the middle of June. 



They lay their eggs on sandy and rocky coasts, both where 

 a stunted vegetation obtains, and where sterility alone is the 

 characteristic of the scene. They appear to have no tie to 

 any previously-tenanted situation, but choose a new summer 

 residence, like other tribes, if so it suit them, year after year. 

 The nest is sometimes placed under the shelter of a stone, 

 rock, plant, or other break in the surface, and at other times 

 on the mere rock, sand, or shingle. It is but some trifling 

 hollow, natural or scraped out for the purpose, lined, perhaps, 

 with a few dry blades of grass, or leaves. 



The eggs, four in number, vary much in colour and markings, 

 some being of a green olive ground, and others of a brown 



