276 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



name is derived from its well-knowu habit of displacing small stones and 

 debris that shelter sand-hoppers and other Crustaceans. This is accom- 

 plished with its beak, which is of great strength and of a conical form, 

 pointing upward rather than downward. The narration of a circumstance, 

 witnessed by Mr. James Mitchell and myself, will serve to illustrate the 

 extraordinary strength of the Turnstone's mandibles, and to show that 

 several birds, working in concert, and with a common aim, can accomplish 

 feats which would be beyond the strength of an unaided individual. The 

 scene occurred on the sandy shore opposite the " Black Dog," on the north 

 side of Don-mouth, when Mr. Mitchell and I were returning from the River 

 Ythan, where we had gone in quest of a rara avis that had been reported 

 the previous day. It was one of those sunny noons in August that make 

 existence itself a luxury, — everything around us seemed bathed in delight, 

 — and our thoughts were so elevated that nothing short of the great object 

 of our excursion would have tempted us to fire a shot. The sky was at its 

 unclouded best; the sun was clear and hot; and the whitish breakers that 

 fringed the sea danced miniature rainbows of opalescent hues. The tide 

 had begun to ebb, and we concealed ourselves among the bents, expecting 

 that our prey might turn up with the return of the birds that had been 

 driven from their feeding-ground by the flow. We had not long enjoyed 

 our sun-bath, when a flock of Turnstones alighted so near us that, even 

 without the aid of a binocular-glass, we could distinctly see their movements. 

 The birds gradually focussed themselves upon a dead salmon that was 

 partially embedded in the sand. They speedily removed the sand from the 

 fish, until the tail only remained covered, and those upon the lower side 

 continued digging under the fish, while those upon the upper side kept 

 pressing it upward, till they succeeded in overturning it. The fish fell 

 upon some of the birds that were undermining it. Two, in a rather excited 

 manner, managed to free themselves and escape ; and my dog, " Clyde," 

 one of the gentlest creatures that ever carried a bird, ran in and caught 

 another that was all but concealed by the fish. " Clyde " was in a playful 

 mood ; and having of her own accord secured the bird, she was hardly in a 

 humour to give it up. — W. C. Angus (' Proc. N. H. Soc. Glasgow,' 1890, 

 p. 180). 



[This account reminds us of an observation made on the actions 

 of a pair of Turnstones, by the late Thomas Edward, of Banff, pub- 

 lished in Smiles' ■ Life of a Scotch Naturalist,' p. 243, which is worth 

 reading. — Ed.] 



MOLLUSCA. 



On the Position of the Dart-sac in Helix rufescens. — Helix rufescens 

 possesses a double bilobed sac, two lobes on each side of the vagina. The 



