18 
H^MATOPUS OSTRALEGUS. 
turnstone ; one of which, he says, is chiefly confined to 
the southern, and the other to the northern parts of 
Great Britain. The ditferencc, however, between these 
two appears to he no ffreater tlian commonly occurs 
among individuals of the same flock, and evidently of 
the same species, in this country. As several years 
probably elapse before these birds arrive at their com- 
plete state of ])lumage, many varieties must necessarily 
appear, according to the diflfereut ages of the indi- 
viduals. 
GENUS XLI. — HJTjMATOPTJSf IsINN.eu9. 
200. njuiAiorus ostralegus , linnjscs akd wilson. 
PIED OYSTER-CATCHER. 
WICSOK, PLATE LXIV. FIG. II EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 
This sinefular species, although noivhere numerous, 
inhabits ^almost every sea sh(;re, both on the new and 
old continent, but is never found inland. It is the only 
one of its genus hitherto discovered, and, from the 
conformation of some of its jiarts, one might almost be 
led by fancy to suppose, that it had borrowed the eye 
of the iiheasant, the legs and feet of the bustard, and 
the bill of the tvoodpecker. 
The oyster-catcher freijuents the sandy sea beach of 
New Jersey, and other parts of our Atlantic coast in 
summer, in small parties of two or three pairs together. 
They are extremely shy, and, e.vcept about the season 
of breeding’, will seldom permit a ])erson to ajiproach 
within gunshot. They tvalk along the shore in a 
watchful, stately manner, at times probing it n ith their 
long wedge-like bills, in search of small shell fish. This 
appears evident, on examining the hard sands where 
they usually resort, which are found thickly perforated 
with oblong holes two or three inches in deiUh. The 
small crabs called fiddlers, that burrow in the mud at 
the bottom of inlets, are freijuently the prey of the 
oyster-catcher ; .as are muscles, .spnut-lish, and a variety 
of other shell fish and sea insects with which those 
shores abound. 
