SCOLOPACID^E. 195 



bling limbs, in order to decoy the object of their fear to a 

 distance/' 



THE TURNSTONE. Slrepsilas interpret. This bird does 

 not breed in this country, but leaving our shores in spring 

 for the more northern latitudes in which it incubates, it re- 

 turns with its brood at the close of summer. Mr. Hewitson 

 discovered the nests of this species upon the coast of Nor- 

 way; and, among the many beautiful representations of 

 British eggs which his work contains, few appear to us to 

 be more beautiful than that of the egg of the Turnstone ; 

 it is of a yellowish-green tint, softly but richly dashed with 

 grey, brown, and pinkish colour. The nests, generally dis- 

 posed so as to be sheltered from the winds, are of slight 

 construction, and contain, as their full number, four eggs 

 each. "They all/' says Mr. Hewitson, " contained four 

 eggs, . . . some much like eggs of the common Snipe, but 

 all having a beautiful tint of purple or crimson seen in few 

 other eggs." The Turnstone frequents the sea-shore, espe- 

 cially those parts of it which are rocky, and receives its 

 name from its habit of turning over with its bill the small 

 stones and other bodies, in search of its prey. It is a bird 

 of great beauty in its spring plumage, and is rapid of flight. 

 Its extra-European range is very extensive. 



