OYSTER-CATCHER. 
175 
easier than it would he upon the slippery sea- weed. These col- 
lections of shells may often he met with some hundreds of yards 
inland. Those birds which I sometimes see in confinement 
always place the limpet with the shell downwards, and then, 
running the bill round the inner margin with a peculiar tremu- 
lous motion, detach the animal as rapidly as I could with a 
knife, and far more neatly. I have never seen them use the 
foot to assist the operation. 
The usual laying-time is about the end of May, although 
eggs are sometimes found as early as the beginning of that month, 
but never later than the middle of July. As the breeding 
season approaches, pairs of birds may be seen some distance 
inland, flying high, and constantly uttering their loud peculiar 
cries. The nest much resembles that of the Einged Plover, only 
of course it is larger, and it is found in the same situations, even 
on gravelly patches some Ettle distance from the sea; the 
male, too, having a similar fancy for constructing numerous others 
while his mate is sitting. They both watch it most jealously, 
and will fly screaming overhead even before it contains eggs. 
Whether situated upon the gravelly soil or upon the bare rock, 
either on the shore or on the ledge of a cliff, where I have oc- 
casionally found it, the nest is always composed of flat stones 
or pieces of shells. Sometimes, however, the site selected is a 
grassy spot near the sea, and then the cavity is lined with dry 
grass. Writers are given to dilate upon the wonderful instinct 
which prompts the Einged Plover and other birds of similar 
habits to cover the bottom of the nest with pebbles, shells, or 
herbage, according to the situation in which it is placed ; unfor- 
tunately for the credit of Oyster-catcher, it gathers withered 
dry grass only, which forms as great a contrast with the sur- 
rounding bright green turf as if shells or pebbles had been chosen 
instead. I have never seen more than three eggs in a nest, and 
have only met with one very striking variety, having the ground 
colour pale greyish green. The spots upon most eggs of this 
species are usually somewhat small, but now and then a largely 
blotched and singularly streaked specimen will occur. 
