CHARADRIIDA. 559 
THE OYSTER-CATCHER. 
HamAtopus 6sTRALEGUS, Linneus. 
The Oyster-catcher inhabits the shores of Great Britain and 
Ireland throughout the year, exhibiting a marked preference for 
sandy bays, stretches of low flat rocks mixed with shingle, and 
mussel-scalps ; but it often occurs inland, and in Scotland it nests 
on all the large rivers and many of their tributaries on the east side, 
and along the Lochy in the west. In autumn the birds which have 
bred in the north pass southward, and a certain influx of visitors 
from the Continent takes place, so that large flocks may be seen 
from that time onward along the coasts. Owing to the black and 
white in its plumage, a common name for the bird is “ Sea-Pie,” 
while I think that ‘catcher’ is a corruption of the Dutch aekster 
(magpie). Another appropriate term is ‘ Mussel-picker,’ and in the 
south-east of England “ Olive” is applied. 
To Greenland this species is merely a straggler, but it is resident 
in the southern districts of Iceland, and occurs in summer on the 
coasts of Europe, from the North Cape to the delta of the Rhone 
