544 PIED OYSTER-CATCHER. 
inland. It is the only one of its genus hitherto discovered, and, from 
the conformation of some of its parts, one might almost be led-by fancy 
tinction. “There is- another, however, with which the Ainerican bird may be con- 
founded, and I cannot decidedly say that it is distinet — the H- pulliatus, Temm. 
have not seen that species ; but from the description of the upper parts being gray- 
ish brown, it must either be distinct, or the. young state of the North American bird, 
My specimens of the latter are of the purest black and white. ae “ 
Bonaparte, in his Nomenclature, says, the species 1s common to both continents ; 
and mentions that lie has specimens before him, from each country, decidedly alike. 
From this circumstance, I should be inclined to give two species to North America, 
as the distinctions between them are so great as it, would be impossible to overlook, 
on an examination-such as he was likely to give. ho ; : 
The following are the distinctive marks of the species in my possession : — The 
bill appears generally to be more slender ; the quills want the white band running 
im a slanting direction across,‘being in the American specimen entirely black; the 
secondaries in the American, except the first, are pure white ; in the British’speci- 
men, each, except the three or four last, have a black mark near the tips, which de- _ 
crease in size as they proceed. he whole interior surface of the wing is pure 
white; in the other it is black, except where the white secondaries appear. In the 
British bird, the tail-coverts and ramp are pure white, the’ latter running upon the 
back, until it is hid by the seapulary and back feathers. In the American, the tail- 
coverts only are white, forming, as it were, a band of that color, interrupted by 
the black tip of the tail; ‘the bale rump and lower part of the back, black. — 
If that before us prove distinct, this genus will contain five species, distributed 
over the whole world, and allied so closely, that every member is alike, with a dif- 
ferent distribution only of black and white to distinguish them. They are, the com- 
mon European bird, perhaps also American, #7. ostralegus; the Black Oyster-Catcher, 
Hi. niger, found in Australia and Africa; H. pallivtus, Temm., South American, 
and which may turn out to be the immature state of the species we have mentioned ; 
and the -Ostraleca leucopus of Lesson; found on the Malowine Isles, and remarka- 
ble in having white legs and feet. The species in my possession may stand as the 
“Hfth, under the name of 1. articus.*~ 
‘As they are allied in form, so they are in habit. They frequent low, sandy beaches, 
feeding on the shell fish during the recess of the tide, aad resting while it flows. 
The Oyster-Catcher of Europe is to be found on all the sandy British coasts in im- 
mense abundance. All those which I have observed breeding, have cliosen low, 
rocky coasts, and. deposit their eggs on some shelve, or ledge, merely baring the 
surface {rom any moss or other substance covering the rock. When approached, 
the parents fly round, uttering with great vehemence their clamorous note. Thave 
never found them breeding on a sandy beach, though I have observed these birds 
for the last ten years, ina situation fitted in every way for that kind of incubation, 
and have known them retire regularly to a distance of about, six or seven miles; (a 
more populous quarter,). where they had the advantage of a ledge of insulated 
rocks bounding the coast. A great many, both old and young birds, perhaps 
among the latter those of a late brood, are always to be found on these coasts, and 
enliven thé monotony of an extensive sand beach, with their clean and lively 
appearance, and their shrill notes. As the young begin to assemble, the flocks 
increase ; by the month of August, they consist of many thousands; and at full tide, 
they may be seen like an éxtensive black line, at the distance of miles. They 
remain at rest until about half tide, when a general motion is made, and the line may 
be séen broken, as the different parties advance close to the’ water edge. After 
this they keep pace with the reflux, until the feeding banks begin to be uncovered, 
of which they seem to have an instinctive knowledge, when they leave their resting- 
% When this note was written, I had not seen the elaborate review of Cuvier’s Regne 
Animale by the Prince of Musignano. He is aware that the North American and European 
species are distinct, ‘and mentions that the more northern regions produce an additional 
one ; I believe the bird figured by Wilson, and the skins in my possession, will prove to be 
this, and may stand as I haye named it above. That.ornithologist also gives as a princi- 
pal character to-H. palliatus, that the upper parts are “di un color fosco invece di nero,” 
at variance with the pure black and white of our specimens. — Eo. 
