366 XTREPS1LAS 1NTERPRES. 



HABITS. 



On our voyage southward in the yacht Nina, we met with the Oyster Catchers for 

 the first t'ine, at Smithville, North Carolina. This was late in November and they were 

 evidently established there for the winter, for they frequented the oyster bars in the har- 

 bor, in large numbers. At high water, they would retreat to the sand bars on the beach 

 ridge, where they would sit perfectly quiet, with their heads drawn in and their bills in- 

 clining downward, much after the manner of Woodcock. But when the outgoing tide 

 left the tops of the oyster bars exposed, they would come flying silently in, at first singly, 

 then in pairs, while groups of a few would follow, until, at last, they would come in flocks 

 of a dozen or more. They would alight among the oysters and when the bivalves gaped 

 open, as is their habit when the water first leaves them, the birds Avould thrust in the point 

 of their hard, flat bills, divide the ligament with which the shells are fastened together, 

 then, having the helpless inhabitant at their mercy, would at once devour it. They were 

 not long in making a meal, for specimens which I shot after they had been feeding a short 

 time, were so crammed that by simply holding a bird by the legs and shaking it gently, the 

 oysters would fall from its mouth. They appeared to feed almost exclusively on this kind 

 of food at Smithville, for I never found anything else in their stomachs; in fact, they ate 

 so many oysters that their flesh was strongly flavored with them. 



Oyster Catchers are quite shy when shot at frequently and as they are difficult to kill, 

 it is not easy to procure specimens. When one is knocked down, the collector is not sure 

 of it, as they not only run with great swiftness but swim and dive nearly as well as Ducks, 

 and a wounded bird, if able to run, will at once take to the water. When disturbed, they 

 rise with loud screams and if captured after being disabled, utter similar cries which are 

 apt to attract the attention of their companions, causing them to circle about. 



In Florida, I found large flocks of these birds on the marshes back of Amelia Island, 

 gathering about the fresh water ponds to drink and bathe; here they were unusually shy, 

 not allowing me to come within a hundred yards of them. Oyster Catchers breed along the 

 sandy beaches of the coast and adjacent islands, from Florida to New Jersey, nesting about 

 June. 



GENUS II. STREPSILAS. THE TURNSTONES. 



GEN. CH. Bill, short, about as long as the head, but not compressed laterally at tip. Hind toe, present. Stomach, 

 muscular. Furcula, not we/I arched. 



Members of this genus, have the outer marginal indentations much deeper than inner. Sexes, similar. There is but 

 one ,pecies within our limits. 



STREPSILAS INTERPRES. 



Turnstone. 

 Strepsilas interpret^., Prod.; 1811, 263. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, robust. Size, not large. Bill, not long. Steruuin, stout. Tongue, rather long, thin, not wide at 

 base, and narrowing toward tip which is rounded. 



COLOR. Adult. Sides of head and neck, rump, upper tail coverts, under portions, and tail, White, with band on latter, 

 crescent shaped mark on upper coverts, broad band on neck ( extending down on side of breast an<l in a line back of ear 

 coverts, line from lower mandible to throat patch, another line from forehead to eye, passing under it into the last, ftnd 



