TION. 



Class II. PIED OYSTER CATCHER. 113 



great dexterity to get at the fish. On the 

 coast of France, where the tides recede so far 

 as to leave the beds of oysters bare, these birds 

 feed on them ; forcing the shells open with their 

 bills. They keep in summer time in pairs, lay- 

 ing their eggs on the bare ground ; these are ge- 

 nerally four in number*, of a whitish brown 

 hue, thinly spotted and striped with black; when 

 any person approaches their young, they make 

 a loud and shrill noise. In winter they assem- 

 ble in vast flocks, and are very wild. 



The weight sixteen ounces ; the length seven- 

 teen inches. The bill is three inches long, com- Descrip- 

 pressed, obtuse at the end, and of a rich orange 

 color : the irides crimson ; the edges of the eye- 

 lids orange ; beneath the lower is a white spot ; 

 the head, neck, scapulars, and coverts of the 

 wings, a fine black; in some the neck is marked 

 with white ; the wings dusky, with a broad trans- 

 verse band of white; the back, breast, belly, 

 and thighs, white ; the tail short, consisting of 

 twelve feathers, the lower half white, the end 

 black; the legs thick and strong; of a dirty 

 flesh color; the middle toe connected to the 

 exterior toe as far as the first joint by a strong 

 membrane; the claws are dusky, short and flat 



• Dr. Latham says, the ground of the eggs is of a greenish 

 grey color : Mr. Montagu, of aa olivaceous brown. Ed. 

 VOL. II. I 



