990 
H^MATOPUS OSTRALEGUS. 
its favourite food, the limpet and the whelk ; and as illustrative of its adroitness I transcribe the following 
interesting paragraph, contained in Mr. R. Gray’s c Birds of West Scotland/ and quoted by Mr. Dresser in 
the ‘ Birds of Europe ’ : — 
“ I recollect seeing about thirty in a flock pitch upon a shelving rock, from which the waves had just 
receded, and commence an attack upon the limpets, which were very numerous. Being within three or four 
yards of them, I could distinctly perceive their movements, and could not help being struck with their dexterity 
in overturning the shells and scooping out their contents. Sometimes a bird would run forward to a limpet, 
and bend down its head sideways, as if in a listening attitude ; then it passed to another and another, repeating 
the scrutiny, apparently to see if the shell was at all raised from the rock, until it found one ready for treat- 
ment, which it immediately put in force by thrusting its thin pointed bill suddenly between the edge of the 
limpet and its point of attachment, and turning it neatly over. One foot was then placed on the object and 
the animal taken out as clearly as if done with a knife or other sharp instrument. Another favourite feeding- 
ground is some sheltered bay, where a pair or two will often station themselves for a few hours, boring the wet 
sand for annelids, which I have seen them pull out of their burrows, and carry to the water for a slight rinsing 
before being swallowed.” 
Mr. Thompson made many observations as to the feeding of the Oystercatcher in Ireland, and he found 
the stomachs of those he examined to contain chiefly mussels, whelks (with their opercula), and limpets. 
Twenty-five well-sized limpets and about fifty opercula of whelks were found iu the crop and gizzard of one 
example, and in another were a quantity of tender roots and green leaves, with white worm-like larva;. 
The Oystercatcher swims well, and sometimes takes to the water of its own accord, unlike most members 
of the family. Mr. Dumford remarks that he saw one swimming in the sea off the North-Frisian island of 
Sylt. 
Nidification . — The Oystercatcher breeds in May and June, nesting on shingle near the water or on sand 
banks or stretches of gravel, and sometimes several pair lay not far from each other. The last-mentioned 
writer speaks of finding about a hundred pairs breeding in one locality in North Frisia. The nest is a hollow 
scraped in the shingle or sand, and is sometimes lined with a stray leaf or two or a few grass-bents, but often 
devoid of any lining at all. A curious site is recorded by Mr. Dresser as having been observed by a naturalist 
in Norway, and which was a hollow on the top of a felled pine log, in which a nest was constructed. The 
eggs are three or four in number, and are broad ovals, some slightly pointed at the small end, others scarcely 
so. A fine series of Mr. Seebohm’s now before me are of various shades of grey and stone-buff, and are 
characterized by their black, bold, somewhat regular-edged and openly-distributed markings, beneath which 
are small and indistinct bluish-grey spots ; the larger spots are collected round the large end, but are not, as a 
rule, closely set ; in some they take the form of immense blotches or clouds, and these eggs are marked with 
a few dark grey underlying clouds ; two have the obtuse end covered Avith broad hieroglyphic-like streaks 
crossed and reerossed over one another. They vary in size from 2 - 31 by 1‘53 inch to 2'0 by 1'55, the latter 
dimensions being those of a very short, rounded egg. A long pointed specimen measures 2 - 35 by T48 inch. 
