THE TURNSTONE. 



531 



The transparent white of their -vA-ings contrasts with their jetty tips, and is eni'iched by tlie 

 coral hue of the bill, while tlie beautiful white of their lower parts has a very pleasing effect/' 



■ The Black Oyster-Catcher {Hcematopus niger) is another American species. 



The handsomely plumed Turnstojje is, though a little bird, so boldly decorated with 

 black, white, and ruddy orange, that it is more conspicuous upon the coast than birds of 

 double its size. 



The name is derived from its movements when feeding, at which times it ntns along the 

 beach, picking up sandhoppers, marine woims, and other creatui'es, and turning over the 

 stones in its course for the purpose of getting at the small Crustacea that are generally found 



TURNSTONE.— iYrtps«as interpret. 



in such situations. This bird is spread over a considerable portion of the world, and is found 

 even in Northern America, where it retains the same habits which distinguish it in Europe. 

 According to Wilson, it feeds almost wholly, during May and June, on the spawn of the king- 

 crab, and is known by the name of the Horse-foot Snipe, the king-crab being popularly called 

 the horse-foot crab. It runs with some speed, but not the rapidity that characterizes many 

 shore-loving birds, and spends some time in examining any spot of ground to which it has taken 

 a fancy, tossing the pebbles from side to side, and picking up the unfortunate being that may 

 have lain under their shelter. 



The nest of this bird is situated upon the coast, and the bird is very valiant in its attacks 

 upon the gulls which approach too near its home. A nest found by Mr. Hewitson ' ' was placed 

 against a ledge of rock, and consisted of nothing more than the drooping leaves of the juniper- 

 bush, under a creeping branch, by which the eggs, four in number, were snugly concealed, 

 and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are 

 visited, allowing just sufBcient room for the bird to cover them. The several nests that we 

 examined were placed in the same situation as the one described, with the exception of two, 

 one of which was under a slanting stone, the other on the bare rock ; all the nests contained 



