110 YSTER-CA TCHEE -A VO CE T. 



Food. Small Crustacea and mollusca, marine insects, &c. 



Nidiftcation. Breeds in circumpolar regions. It has been 

 suggested that it may breed in Great Britain, but there is no 

 evidence of it as yet. 



OYSTER-CATCHER (Hcematopus ostralegus). 



Resident. Met with commonly on our coast-lines, preferably, 

 perhaps, where it is rocky, with stretches of sands. Breeds 

 abundantly in Scotland (sometimes found inland), and else- 

 where, in all suitable localities. 



Plumage. Head, neck, fore chest, scapulars, and tip of tail 

 black. Upper tail-coverts, great wing-coverts, and under parts 

 pure white. Bill long, chisel-edged, and orange-yellow. Legs 

 and feet flesh-colour. Length 16 in. Female : similar ; in 

 autumn and winter the front and sides of neck white. Young : 

 back tinged with ruddy, and other colours duller. Nestling 

 covered with greyish down, tipped with buff and mottled on 

 head and back. 



Language. A sharp, shrill whistle, several times repeated. 



Habits. Fond of perching motionless on some sea-girt rock. 

 When feeding, it runs along in a trotting manner. Flight 

 rapid, and when flying its pied plumage is conspicuous. It 

 levers off limpets from the rocks at low tide, but it is extremely 

 doubtful whether it can successfully negotiate the bivalves of 

 an oyster, as its name implies. It swims with ease. 



Food. Mussels, limpets, whelks, small fish, and Crustacea ; 

 also marine plants. 



Nest. May. One brood. 



Site. In depression in shingle, among pebbles, and on rocks 

 not far above high-water mark. 



Materials. When on shingle, fragments of pebbles often 

 line the cavity ; when on rocks, a few pieces of seaweed, &c. 



Eggs. Three or four. Pale clay- or stone-colour, spotted 

 and streaked with blackish brown and greyish brown. Large 

 for the bird's size, and not very pyriform. 



Family SCOLOPACIDsE. 

 AVOCET (Recurvirostra avocetta). 



Now a rare straggler only. A few generally put in an 

 appearance in spring on our east coasts, and would, perhaps, 

 breed as it used to years ago, but they are invariably shot. 

 Sometimes observed in autumn. 



Haunts. Coast-lines and estuaries. 



Plumage. Crown, forehead, sides of head, scapulars, median 

 and tertiary wing-coverts, and some of the primaries black. 



