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THE OYSTER-CATCHER 



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OYSTER-CATCHER. —Hojnidiojnts ostrdlegiis. 



The eggs of this bird are laid in a hollow scraped in the sand or the fine shelly shingle. 

 There is no nest excepting the sand. The colour of the eggs is yellowish olive, with 

 streaks and spots of black. 



The top of the head is rich chestnut, the forehead white, with a black patch immediately 

 above the white, and a slight streak of white passes near the eye. The ear-coverts are 

 black, and the edge of the neck is greyish white. The chin, sides of the throat, breast, and 

 under parts are white, except a black collar which very nearly crosses the breast, but 



leaves a white space in front. 

 The back and upper parts 

 are ashen brown, and the 

 primaries dull black. The 

 length of the adult bird is 

 not quite seven inches. 



The handsome Oystee- 

 Catchsr is another of our 

 coast birds, and is tolerably 

 plentiful upon the shore. 

 From the black and white 

 hues of its plumage, it is 

 sometimes called the Sea-Pie. 

 It generally keeps to the 

 shore, haunting sandy bays, 

 interspersed with partially 

 submersed rocks, and pick- 

 ing up its subsistence with 

 great animation. It fesjds 

 mostly on molluscs, mussels 

 and limpets being ordinary 

 articles of its food. It is able to detach the firmly-clinging limpet from the rock by 

 striking a sharp blow with its wedge-like beak, and detaching the mollusc before it has 

 had time to take the alarm and draw itself firmly against its support. It is swift of foot, 

 and a good swimmer, frequently taking to the water in search of food, and being able to 

 dive when alarmed. Diving, however, does not seem to be a favourite accomplishment, 

 and is seldom resorted to unless under peculiar circumstances. 



In some parts of England, the Oyster-Catcher makes short inland migrations during 

 the summer, but even in such cases it displays its aquatic propensities by keeping near 

 the river banks, and feeding on the worms, slugs, and similar creatures. 



The nest of the Oyster-Catcher is merely a hole scraped in the ground, wherein lie three 

 or four eggs of a yellowish olive, spotted with grey and brown. They are generally placed 

 on the beach well above high-water mark, but the bird sometimes makes its home at some 

 distance from the sea. The flat sandy coasts of Lincobishire seem to be the localities most 

 favoured by the Oyster-Catcher. The young are covered with soft down of a greyish 

 brown colour. 



The head, neck, upper part of the breast, scapularies, quill-feathers, and latter half of 

 the tail-feathers are deep shining black, and the rest of the plumage is pure white. The 

 curious beak is three inches in length, very much compressed — i. e. flattened sideways — and 

 towards the point is thinned off into a kind of wedge or chisel-shaped termination. The 

 rich ruddy colour is deepest at the base. During some of the winter months there is no 

 white collar round the throat, and in the yearling bird the back and wings are mottled 

 with brown. The total length of the Oyster-Catcher is about sixteen inches. 



The handsomely plumed Turnstone 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. 



