H.KMATOPODID.K — TFIK uYSTKIl CATCHERS- 1 1. EM. \ To ITS. 



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mt'ans shy, but would sit on tlic rocks until lie coulil nlmost touch it; then, uttcr- 

 iuK ft low whistliu),' cit, if would dint olT to iinothi'i" Hki'rry, ri'|K'atiii},' tho huuio 

 lUMno'Uvn- iijjiiiu and iiijaiM. 



Dr. ("ixipt'i' it'K'ards the lUack (hstcr ('atidicr as an cmiiu-ntly tliaractt'iistic bird 

 of our I'acitic coast. He adds tliat it is nioic conmiou to the northward than to 

 the south, and that it is i)artic\darly partial to rocky coasts and islands, hciii),' rarely 

 met with on sand hcatdies. lie t'ouml a lew on Santa Marhara Island, in .May, I.S().'{, 

 and discovered a nest on the .'Id of dune containiuf,' four fresh ej,'^s, supiioscd to 

 have heen a second layin^t. They were in a sli^dit dcpressitui in tho j»ravel, doso 

 to the edi,'e of a rocky clitT, ii,Ljainst which the waves were dashinj; almost to its top, 

 and a very sli^'ht roll would have sent the water over them. The (dd liinls, uuliko 

 the IMovers, showed great solicitude for their eggs, Itoth of them Hying round clo.se 

 to him, with a louil whistle, which was their only cry. 



Mr. Cooper descril)cs their eggs as nu'asuring fnuu li.L'S to L',4(> iiudies in length, 

 and from l.od to l.o.'t inches in breadth. They hav(^ a brownish-white grouiul, 

 sparsely blotched with markings of a light and of a darker brown. 



Dr. Coo|>er thinks that this species does not breed in any cd' the islands soutli of 

 Santa Barbara, as he nu't with none of them during the siimnuM'. and saw none along 

 the southern coast. He has notu'cd this species ou the Karallon I.slands in June, and 

 helievi's that this is the bird rtd'erred to by Dr. Heernuinn as //. Toifiisfiidl! oi Audu- 

 bon, inasmuch as this latter has never been seen mu'th of Panama. This last-named 

 species is one that may readily be rccogni/cd by its blood-red h'gs; and Dr. Cooper 

 ventures the suggestion that Townsend really obtained his specimen of it from 

 South .\nicrica, as it is now known that he did several other species of birds wrongly 

 credited to onr coast. Dr. Cooper adds th.at there apjicars to be really very little, if 

 any, difference in the habits or cries of the m'f/ir and those of the 2»'l/i<itt(>i, both of 

 whiidi specii's associate together during the breeding-seas. m. 



.Mr. Dall mentions this bird as a summer visitor to the Aleutian Islaiuls, and says 

 that it was seen both in Malashka and in the Shumcgius. The eggs, partly incubated, 

 were obtained ou liange Island, I'opoff Strait, June 'J',i, 1871.'. There were two in one, 

 and one in another, nest, tlu'se being mere depressions in the giMvel of the beaeh, 

 with no lining whatever. The birds were exceedingly wary, and kei)t entirely out of 

 gunshot. When disturbed they uttered a peculiar low whistle, which, once heard, is 

 likely to be remend)ered ; and they have a habit of standing on the beach or rocks a 

 little way ajjart, ami whistling, one calling and the other answering, keeping this up 

 for half an hour at a time. It is one of the most peculiar birds of that region, having 

 a grave, solenni, and stilted gait, and bobbing its liead up and down with every step 

 as it moves. 



Mr. H. W. Henshaw met Avith the Black (.)yster Catcher in considerable numbers on 

 Santa Cruz Island, and was informed that they occur on other islands of that group, 

 frequenting the little islets that are separated from the nuiin island by narrow chan- 

 nels, and finding these breeding-grounds safe from the intrusion of their enemies. 

 Their short stout legs and feet adapt them for a life among the rocks, and they 

 ol)tain much of their food among the kelp and seaweed which cover the slippery 

 rocks and shelter various crnstaceans and mollnsks. Their long, strong, and wedge- 

 like bill is admirably adnptcil for prying open bivalve shells. (1n Santa Cruz Island 

 they seemed to obtain a plentiful supply of food by feeding, along the sandy beaches, 

 on objects cast up by the waves or floating on the surface. Their movements a\> 

 peared rather clumsy, and as if they felt a little out of place. The birds were not 

 at all shy, and permitted Mr. Henshaw to approach them within thirty yards as 



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