THE PRATINCOLE — THE OYSTER-CATCHER. 211 



The grey-brown Austrian Pratincole ( 30 ) strutted 



along; 

 The shrew'd Oyster-catcher ( 3i ) made one of the 



throng ; 



( 30 ) Order, Grall^e, (Lath.) Pratincole, the Austrian, 

 the Senegal, the Spotted. 

 The genus Glareola, (Lath.) or Pratincole, consists of 

 seveirspecies ; they have a strong, stout, straight bill, hooked 

 at the tip ; nostrils at the base of the bill linear, oblique ; gape 

 of the mouth large; feet four-toed ; toes long, slender, connected 

 at the base by a membrane ; tail forked. The following are the 

 chief: the Austriaca, or Austrian Pratincole, is above grey- 

 brown, collar black ; chin and throat white ; breast and belly 

 reddish grey ; about nine inches long. Four other varieties ; 

 three inhabit the heaths of Europe, near the banks of rivers ; 

 two found on the coast of Coromandel. Feeds on worms and 

 aquatic insects ; is very noisy and clamorous. The Senegalensis, 

 or Senegal Pratincole, is entirely brown; nine and a half 

 inches long ; found in Senegal and Siberia. The Ncevia, or 

 Spotted Pratincole, is brown spotted with white; size of 

 the Austriaca ; inhabits Germany. 



( 3I ) Order, Grall^e, (Linn.) Oyster-Catcher. 

 The genus PLematopus, (Linn.) or Oyster-Catcher, con- 

 sists of four species, of which the Ostralgeus, Sea-Pie, Oyster- 

 Catcher, Pied Oyster-Catcher, Pienet, or Olive, is the 

 chief. It has a compressed bill, the tip an equal wedge ; 

 nostril linear ; tongue a third part of the length of the bill ; 

 feet formed for running; toes three, no back toe ; body some- 

 times totally black : frequently head, neck, and body, above 

 black, beneath white ; inhabits almost every shore; common on 

 the sea coasts of this country ; about sixteen inches long; feeds 

 on marine worms and insects, but chiefly on oysters and limpets, 

 which it obtains from the shells with great dexterity. It makes 



