DEOMAS ARDEOLA. 993 



the ' Novara' Expedition; while in the Andainans it was procured by Capt. Ramsay at South Andaman, Port 

 Blair, and Macpherson Straits, at which latter place Mr. Hume likewise procured it. It is further recorded 

 by Capt. Beavan as being very common on those islands. On the east coast of the Indian peninsula Jerdon 

 observed it far from rare near Nellorc at the mouths of rivers and along backwaters. It was met with on the 

 east coast by Mr. W. Elliot, and in the Laccadives Mr. Hume saw a flock at Pere-Mull-Par in February. 

 On the coast of Kattiawar it has been procured, and in Kurrachee harbour it has been seen in January, and 

 during the hot season by Capt. Butler, who likewise obtained it at Mandavee. Writing in ' Stray Feathers/ 

 1878, p. 186, he says, it is not very uncommon at Kurrachee, and breeds in the Persian Gulf, as a young 

 bird was caught in June on one of the islands opposite Bushire. It was also procured at Baba Island, west of 

 Sindh, by Major Le Messurier. Along the south coast of Arabia it must needs occur, as in the Gulf of Aden 

 and southern portion of the Red Sea it is, according to Von Heuglin, common. This is one of its great 

 breeding-grounds ; but northwards of the tropic, this writer says, it only occurs as a straggler. It is resident 

 here on the low-lying parts of the coast and on the coral islands, living in pairs and families, except in late 

 autumn and winter, when it assembles in flocks. 



On the Abyssinian coast Mr. Blanford likewise discovered it; he writes that it is not uncommon, 

 associating there in flocks ; it was obtained by Salt on the coast of this country, behind the village of Madir, 

 in the Bay of Amphila, from which he took its specific title of amphilensis. It extends down the entire coast 

 to Natal, where Mr. Ayres procured it. In this region Layard says, in his ' Birds of South Africa/ that its 

 favourite localities are sand banks far out to sea; it is apparently, however, rare so far south as Natal. From 

 Madagascar Hartlaub, Schlegel and Pollen record it ; the latter authors write, in their ' Recherches sur la 

 Faune de Madagascar/ that it is not rare in the north-west of this island, being found along the coasts in 

 flocks of from six to twelve. In the Seychelles, Mr. E. Newton procured it on the island of Curieuse, and 

 was told that it was not uncommon there, but that seldom more than two or three were seen together. This 

 was in the month of February. 



Habits. — This remarkable bird, concerning the true position of which there has been so much difference 

 of opinion, is strictly an inhabitant of the sea-shore, frequenting sand banks, beaches, the edges of salt lagoons 

 and backwaters, and, in some places, coral reefs, to which it appears to be especially partial. In its flight, its 

 sociable habit of collecting in little flocks (which rest in close company on rocks, sand banks, or other spots at 

 the edge of the tide), its mode of feeding, and finally in its note, and the way this is sometimes uttered in 

 consonance, it closely resembles the Oystercatcher. Layard, who followed Schlegel and Blyth in considering 

 it allied to the Terns, appears to have observed it flying past him out at sea ; but it is not its habit to leave 

 the sea-shore, unless flying to some given point ; and if he met with it off the island of Manaar, it was pro- 

 bable that the birds seen were flying from the sand banks of Adam's Bridge to the mainland. Though sociable 

 at times when feeding, they are often seen singly or two or three together, walking about with quick short 

 strides and erect carriage, stopping every now and then to make a peck at some object of their search. When 

 solitary it is very wary, and invariably gets up before one is within gunshot ; but when in little troops it is not 

 so shy, and may be approached tolerably close. Its highly webbed feet enable it to swim well ; and one which 

 I winged swam so fast that it nearly escaped into deep water before I could stop it with a second shot. 

 When feeding they are silent ; but when packed in flocks and alarmed by the approach of some one, or when 

 being joined by some of their fellows, they utter a loud and not unmusical note in consonance, which, mingled 

 with the roar of the surf, has a peculiarly wild and pleasant sound. I have always found the remains of crabs 

 in the stomachs of those I have examined ; but Von Heuglin says they also feed on worms, spawn, and small 

 fish, which is the diet spoken of by Schlegel; Salt, however, states that the pair he shot in the Bay of Amphila 

 had their stomachs full of locusts. The curious calling-crab (Gelasinus) and the burrowing sand-crab 

 {Ocypode) form the main portion of their diet in Ceylon; their powerful bills are well constituted for the 

 disposal of such prey, and, judging by the scratched appearance of the mandibles, the hapless crustaceans often 

 show fight before they are dismembered. The body of the crab is broken by a stroke of the heavy bill, and 

 the contents devoured, after which the Crab-Plover swallows the claws whole. As above remarked, they are 

 sociable birds ; and Mr. Hume has noticed them at high water, collected together in a dense crowd, as closely 

 packed as they could stand on a single isolated rock. They consort but little with other species, according to 

 my experience, the Greenshank being the only bird I have seen in company with them. Von Heuglin, 



