ILEMATOPUS OSTEALEO-US. 989 



not so, however, further east, where the Amoor appears to he its most northern limit. In this region Schrenck 

 records it from the mouth of the Ussuri, which enters the Amoor a long way from the sea, and obtained it 

 on the latter river lower down. Middendorff procured it also on the Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk; 

 and Pallas records it from the coast of Kamtschatka and the Kurile Islands. If we unite the Chinese species 

 with it, we find this Oystercatcher in Japan on the island of Yezo and about Yokohama. Southwards it is 

 found in limited numbers as far down the Chinese coasts as Swatow, breeding in Talien Bay. 



Turning towards Western Asia, we find it recorded from Asia Minor ; but it was not noticed by Canon 

 Tristram in Palestine. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley observed it at Salonica, where it is not common ; but on the 

 coasts of the Black Sea it is pretty generally distributed, according to Von Nordmann, though it does not winter 

 on the north coast. It occurs in Sicily, Malta, and Sardinia in spring and autumn, and in the latter island is 

 also found at all seasons, according to Mr. Brooke. It is rare in Italy, being found there chiefly in winter 

 and spring ; and on the coasts of the Epirus it was only seen by Lord Lilford in March and April. In Tran- 

 sylvania it is rare, and met with chiefly during spring migration to the north. It is not very common 

 anywhere in Germany or Poland ; and in these countries, as also to the northward, is chiefly found in the 

 breeding-season, arriving in Denmark and Sweden in March, and further north, in Finland, in April. 

 Mr. Durnford found it breeding in the North-Frisian islands in May. In Northern Russia it is not uncommon 

 in the breeding-season, particularly on the White Sea ; aud Messrs. Seebolmi and Harvie Brown found it on the 

 Petchora as far north as the Arctic circle. It is common in Sweden, and in Norway some remain during the 

 winter on the south coast. It is a resident in Great Britain, breeding in the Fame Islands and in Scotland. 

 In the Faroes it is common, and breeds in numbers there; and in Iceland it is also not uncommon, frequenting 

 the south coast even in winter. It is most abundant on the English coasts in autumn and winter ; and in Belgium 

 and France where it is common, it is chiefly an autumn, winter, and spring resident. In Portugal it is well 

 known ; and on the south coasts of Spain it is found from autumn till spring, the latest recorded by Col. Irby 

 having been seen by Lord Lilford on the 5th of May near the mouth of the Guadalquivir. In Morocco Favier 

 says that it is a bird of passage, passing north in April and May, and returning in October. In the Red Sea, 

 curiously enough, it seems to be a resident. Von Heuglin met with it in pairs and families throughout the 

 summer near Qoseier, Sauakin, in theDahlak Islands, at Amphila and Belul ; and in November and December 

 he saw it on the Somauli coast. On the Egyptian coast Capt. Shelley only met with it in winter. It appears 

 to extend down the east coast to Mozambique, where it has been observed by Peters. It likewise strays down 

 the west coast, for there is a specimen in the Leyden Museum from Senegambia ; but elsewhere in that region 

 it has not been observed. 



Habits. — This well-known bird is, nest to the Common Curlew, one of the most wary species that frequent 

 the shores of the Old World ; yet at times it will admit of a near approach, particularly when there is a strong 

 wind blowing from the sea, and it happens to be resting in a little flock on some rock near the water's edge. 

 At such a time it will also fly pretty close to the fowler ; and I have known a man to kill more than a dozen 

 out of a closely packed flock at one shot. In rocky districts it always frequents the rocks which are uncovered 

 at low water, and subsists on limpets, mussels, and other shells, which it strikes from the rocks or divides 

 asunder with a sharp blow of the bill. The constant wear to which the tips of the mandibles are thus subjected 

 soon blunts them, and they become quite stumpy. Its food, however, on sandy shores, and particularly in 

 the tropics, where the above-mentioned shellfish do not exist in such numbers, consists almost entirely of sea- 

 worms and slugs, minute bivalves, and crustaceans, which I have found swallowed whole in its stomach ; and 

 it is noteworthy that the mandibles are not found so much worn down as on the rocky shores of temperate 

 seas. It generally associates in small families or troops of from six to a dozen ; but in the early winter in 

 Europe it collects in much larger flocks. Its note is a clear and loud whistle, which it utters sometimes in 

 consort just before the troop take wing from the rocks, and also when they are on the wing ; when single 

 birds are flushed, they generally utter their whistle, perhaps as an alarm-note to their companions, who may be 

 not far off. Its flight is swift, strong, and straight-on-end, and performed with quick, far-reaching strokes of 

 its pinions, which are held extended above the back as it alights. As must be apparent, the name given to 

 this bird is a misnomer, as oysters are not, as a rule, found clinging to rocks uncovered by the tide ; and it is a 

 question whether the bird ever eats an oyster. It displays admirable dexterity in manipulating the shells of 



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