no 



PR^COCIAL aRALLATORES — LIMICOL^. 



Haematopus ostialegus. 



EUROPEAN OYSTER CATCHER. 



Hccmatopus ostmlcyus, Linn. Faun. Suec. 69 ; S. N. ed. 10, 1758, 152 ; ed. 12, 1766, 257. — Naum. 



Vog. Deutschl. VII. 1834, 325, pi. 181. — ScHLEG. Kev. Crit. 85. — KiiYs. & Bla.s. Wirb. Eur. 



71. — Gray, Gen. B. III. 547; Cat. Brit. B. 1S63, 142. — Macgill. Hist. Brit. B. IV. 1852, 



152. — RiDGW. Kom. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 506. — CoUES, Check List, 2d ed. 1882, no. 595 



(" oslrllcgus "). 

 Hccmatopus hypolciicus, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-As. II. ISll, 129. 



Hcematopus loiigirostris, Vieill. Enc. Mcth. II. 1820, 340. — GouLD. B. Austr. VI. pi. 7. 

 Hcematojnis picatus, ViGOits, .King's Voy. Austr. Alp. 420. 

 Oslralega pica, Bonxat. Euc. Meth. 1790, 25. 

 OstraUcja curopcea. Less. Traite, 1831, 548. 

 Hccmatopus austndasianus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, 155. 

 Ostmlcyus vulgaris, Less. Rev. Zool. 1839, 47. 

 Ostralerjus lucmatopus, Macgill. Man. II. 59. 

 Hccmatopus balticus, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. 563. 

 Hccmatopms oricntciMs, Brehm, 1. c. 

 Hccmatopus osculans, SwiNii. P. Z. S. 1871, 405. 

 Pied Oyster Catcher, Penn. Brit. Zool. 11. 1812, 112, pi. 19. 

 Oyster Catcher, Yarr. Brit. B. cd. 2, 11. 496, fig. ; ed. 3, II. 525, fig., et AucT. 



Hab. Sea-coasts of the Palsearctic region, New Zealand, etc. ; occasional in Greenland 

 (Reinh. J. t 0. 1854, 425 ; Ibis, 1861-1869. Julianehaab, 1847 ; Godthaab, 1851 ; Nenortalik, 

 three specimens). 



Sp. Char. Adult: Head, neck, jugulum, wings, and tail, black, the head and neck somewhat 

 plumbeous in certain lights, the wings and tail slighth' brownish. Rest of the plumage^ including 

 the entire rump, upper tail-coverts, base of the tail, greater wing-coverts, and lower parts, pure 

 white. Throat sometimes with a white transverse band, and in some specimens other white 



markings about the head.* Bill " vermilion, tinged with yellow as far as the end of the nasal 

 groove, the attenuated part dull yellow ; " iris crimson, eyelids vermilion ; feet " pale lake or 

 pnrplish red." (Macoillivray.) Youncj : " General color of the dark parts . . . deep chocolate- 

 brown, the feathers slightly margined with yellowish red ; the breast, belly, greater part of the 

 back [i. e. rump?], half of the tail, and its coverts . . . white ;" bill "more tinged with orange, 

 but the feet . . . nearly as described above " (Macgillivrat). 



' According to Macgillivray (Hist. Brit. B. IV. p. 155), these variations appear to be of an individual 

 character, "birds at all seasons oecumng with the varieties as to the white marks on the ueck mentioned 

 above. " 



