iiTTBODircTioir. 55 



Very like these birds is the well-known EufE, which is as 

 noted for its combative habits as for the handsome elongated 

 feathers which, at the breeding-season *, adorn the neck of the 

 cock bird. It is distinguished by the name Machetes pugnax. 



The Black-tailed Godwit {Limosa melanwd) represents an- 

 other group of about four species, all Northern forms. 



Pig. 55. 



The '&v£ (Machetes pugnax). 



The curious Bird called the Oyster-catcher (Hcematopm ostra- 

 legus), well known to most persons at all familiar with the 

 creatures of our shores, is readily recognizable by its black and 

 white plumage and its straight and powerful bUl. They breed 

 close to the water, and their nests are sometimes hollowed 

 out on the sand or shingle only just above high-water mark. 



* The great differences in the plumage of these Birds, according to sex, 

 age, and season, are very remarkable. They are well exhibited in a case in 

 the Hall of the Natural History Museum. 



