% 
Crass Il. PIED OYSTER CATCHER. 
great dexterity to get at the fish. On the 
coast of France, where the tides recede so far 
as to leave the beds of oysters bare, these birds 
feed on them ; forcing the shells open with their 
bills. ‘They keep in summer time in pairs, lay- 
ing their eggs on the bare ground; these are ge- 
nerally four in number*, of a whitish brown 
hue, thinly spotted and striped with black; when 
any person approaches their young, they make 
a loud and shrill noise. In winter they assem- 
ble in vast flocks, and are very wild. 
The weight sixteen ounces ; the length seven- 
teen inches. The bill is three inches long, com- 
pressed, obtuse at the end, and of a rich orange 
color : the irides crimson; the edges of the eye- 
lids orange ; beneath the lower is a white spot ; 
the head, neck, scapulars, and coverts of the 
wings, a fine black; in some the neck is marked 
with white ; the wings dusky, with a broad trans- 
verse band of white; the back, breast, belly, 
and thighs, white; the tail short, consisting of 
twelve feathers, the lower half white, the end 
black; the legs thick and strong; of a dirty 
flesh color; the middle toe connected to the 
exterior toe as far as the first joint by a strong 
membrane ; the claws are dusky, short and flat. 
* Dr. Latham says, the ground of the eggs is of a greenish 
grey color: Mr. Montagu, of an olivaceous brown. Ep. 
VOL. II. I 
am 
113 
DEscrir- 
TION. 
