TURNSTONE. 
17 
I'reed, wandering' soutlierly in autumn. It is said to 
build on the ground, and to lay lour eggs, of an olive 
colour, spotted with black, and to inhabit the isles of 
the Baltic during summer. 
The turiistoiie flies with a loud twittering note, and 
runs with its wings lowered ; but not with the rapidity 
of others of its tribe. It examines more completely the 
same spot of ground, and, like some of the wood|)eckers, 
"■ill remain searching in the same place, tossing the 
stones and pebbles from side to side for a considerable 
time. 
These birds vary greatly in colour; scarcely two 
individuals are to be found alike in markings. These 
varieties are most numerous in autumn when the young 
birds are about, and are less frequently met with in 
spring. The most perfect specimens I have examined 
arc as follows ; 
Length eight inches and a half, extent seventeen 
inches ; bill, blackish horn ; frontlet, space passing 
through the eyes, and thence dropping down and 
joining the under mandible, black, enclosing a spot of 
"■bite. Crown, -n hite, streaked with black ; breast, 
black, from whence it turns up half across the neck; 
behind the eye, a S))Ot of black; uiiper part of the 
Heck, white, running down and skirting the black breast 
ns tar as the shoulder ; upper part of the back, black, 
1 ** hy a strip of bright ferruginous ; scapulars, 
atk, glossed with greenish, and inter-spersed with 
bv* tl back below this, pure wliite, but hid 
y le Scapulars; rump, black; tail-coverts, white; 
tail, rounded, white 
the extremity 
at the base half, thence black to 
is vy, crossed by two bands of white ; lower half of 
*^0**^' t-overts, ferruginous ; leg.s and feet, a bright 
lead ; hind toe, standing inwards, and 
aU of tliem edged with a thick warty membrane. The 
a e and female are alike variable ; and when in perfect 
lilimiage nearly resemble each other. 
anrl Hintory of British Birds, has figured 
csciibed what he considers to be two species of 
"OL. III. ‘ 
y ; belly and vent, white ; wings, dark 
