DESCRIPTIVE LIST 151 



23. FAMILY H>EMATOPODID>qE. OYSTER-CATCHERS 



Genus Hsematopus (Linn.) 

 135. Hsematopus palliatus (Temm.). OYSTER-CATCHER. 



Ad. Head, neck, and upper breast glossy black, back and wing-coverts olive-brown, seconda- 

 ries white, primaries fuscous, upper tail-coverts white, base of tail white, end fuscous, lower 

 breast and belly white. Im. Similar, but head and neck blackish and upperparts more or less 

 margined with buffy. L., 19.00; W., 10.50; Tar., 2.40; B., 3.40. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Both Americas, breeding from Virginia to Chile and Brazil. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region, resident. 



This fine bird is most striking in appearance and exceedingly conspicuous. 

 Broadly marked in solid brown-blacks and whites, with a large, brilliant vermilion- 

 colored bill, red eyelids, and large yellow eye, there is no possibility of ever mis- 

 taking it for anything but what it is the feathered king of the shell-strewn sand- 

 beaches. 



The flight of the Oyster-catcher is strong and regular, and by no means slow. 

 But, for a bird, its long suit is running! If you have ever tried to run down a 

 young one which has not quite reached the flying stage, and this happens to be on 

 a hot August day, with the sun shining clear on the red-hot sand and no breeze 

 stirring, then you can appreciate this bird's power of leg. 



The open beaches are where these birds make their nests, and April and May are 

 the usual nesting months. Pearson and Brimley have found their eggs and young on 

 Royal Shoal Island in Pamlico Sound, at Cape Lookout in Carteret County, on 

 the beach near Ocracoke, and at Lockwood's Folly in Brunswick County. They 

 seem to stay on our coast the whole year, though less common in winter, particu- 

 larly toward the northern border of the State. 



The flat, screw-driver-pointed bill is an admirable tool for opening, not oysters, 

 but the smaller and weaker shelled bivalves on which it feeds. At low tide the bird 

 is frequently seen feeding on the exposed mud-flats and oyster rocks. 



In the neighborhood of Southport it is not at all uncommon, usually being seen 

 in pairs. Occasionally, however, ten or a dozen may be in sight at one time, in 

 places where food is abundant. Pearson and H. H. Brimley counted thirty-two on 

 a small mud-flat opposite Southport in August, 1909. 



Some writers state that the bill is often bent side wise at the tip, as if from using 

 it as an "opener," chiefly in one direction. This feature we have not noticed. 

 We have, however, seen one specimen with the upper mandible about one inch 

 shorter than the lower, which might indicate either a break or excessive wear. 

 The Oyster-catcher goes by the name of "Clam-bird" on our coast. 



The eggs of the Oyster-catcher are creamy or white, spotted and blotched irregu- 

 larly with different shades of brown, and are rather oval in shape. Average size 

 2.20 x 1.56. Two is the usual number deposited. 



