TUENSTONE 245 



Young fledglings should not be reared on the ground in 

 the same cage with Turnstones. The latter, when search- 

 ing for food, may peck at them and toss them about. I 

 knew of a male Turnstone which killed three newly-hatched 

 Californian Quails by turning them over two or three times 

 a day, the youngsters surviving this treatment barely a 

 week. Perhaps the baby Quails were mistaken for stones 

 which they resemble in colour as they crouch motionless 

 on the ground ! 



Food. This consists of small crabs, shrimps, shell-fish, 

 and insects, and the bird seems to be particularly fond of 

 sand-hoppers. When it discovers a spot 011 the strand 

 abounding in these creatures it will display the utmost 

 activity to procure a big meal. I have examined several 



FIG 35.-LEPT FOOT OF TURNSTONE. 11 Nat. size. 



gizzards which contained mussels with the shells unbroken 

 and measuring 5x3 mm., together with other bivalves, 

 univalves, shrimps, and fine sand. Other gizzards, void of 

 food-stuffs, contained quantities of broken, dry, white shells, 

 like bits of porcelain, swallowed presumably to aid digestion. 

 Other gizzards contained numbers of small crabs, measur- 

 ing 5x5 mm. Small, pointed sea-snails appear to be a 

 favourite food. 



Voice. The twittering notes sound like a series of 

 chuckles, and seem to resemble the syllables cliic-a chic-a 

 chlc-d chee. 



Flight. The flight is rapid, and fairly straight, and as 



