172 
British Birds. 
Waders, and is used by the bird for turning over stones in its search for food. 
The colour of the male is of a ‘ Harlequin ’ pattern, and is quite unlike that 
of any other Plover. The dress of the young birds and of the old ones in 
winter is much duller and browner. It is an autumn and spring migrant in 
Great Britain, but a few remain throughout the winter, and it is probable that 
the Turnstone may breed in the North of Scotland. It nests in Northern Europe 
as far south as Denmark and the shores of the Baltic, and is known to occur 
throughout the Arctic Regions of both the Old and New Worlds. As a rule 
the Turnstone keeps in pairs, but a few may be found together in the autumn on 
the sea-shore ; it is entirely a shore-frequenting species, and is generally not very 
shy. It feeds on insects which it searches for under stones. The nest is placed 
on the ground, and is a little hollow in the latter, lined with a few dead leaves. 
The eggs are four in number, of a greenish-grey or clay-brown colour, with 
chocolate-brown and purplish-grey markings ; their length is about an inch-and- 
a-half to an inch-and-three-quarters. 
The Oyster- 
THE OYSTER- 
CATCHER. 
( Hamatopus 
ostralegus.) 
Catcher has a 
long and nar- 
rowly compres- 
sed bill. Its 
plumage consists entirely of black 
and white, and it has pinkish legs 
and a ring of vermilion round the 
eye. It nests in certain localities 
in England, but more plentifully in 
Scotland and Ireland, along the 
shoresofsomeofthe rivers and even 
on inland lochs. It is found in simi- 
lar localities all over Europe and as 
far east as the Valley of the Ob, 
while it winters in the Mediter- 
ranean and on the Caspian and 
Red Sea coasts. In autumn and winter it collects in large flocks, and haunts the 
sandy-shores left uncovered by the tide. I have kept several of these birds in 
confinement, but they never became very tame, and their soft toes suffered greatly 
when the ground became hard and frozen ; they were then nearly always lame. 
The nest is a small hollow, lined with pieces of shells and little stones, and when in 
the moss or peat, the nest is generally ornamented with limpet-shells. The^eggs 
are three in number, clay-brown to greenish-olive in colour, and lined or blotched 
with blackish brown or purplish-grey ; the length is from a little over two inches 
to two-and-a-half inches. 
The Oyster-Catcher. 
