TURNSTONE.— Cin cl us in terp 'es. 
The handsomely plumed Turnstone is, though a little bird, so boldly deco- 
rated with black, white, and ruddy orange, that it is more conspicuous upon the 
coast than birds of double its size. 
The name is derived from its movements when feeding, at which times it runs 
along the beech, picking up sandhoppers, marine worms, and other creatures, and 
turning over the stones in its course for the purpose of getting at the small crus- 
taceae that are generally found in such situations. This bird is spread over a 
considerable portion of the world, and is found even in Northern America, where 
it retains the same habits which distinguish it in Europe. 
According to Wilson, it feeds almost wholly, during May and June, on the 
spawn of the king-crab, and is known by the name of the Horse-foot Snipe, the 
king-crab being popularly called the horse-foot crab. It runs with some speed, 
but not the rapidity that characterizes many shore-loving birds, and spends some 
time in examining any spot of ground to which it has taken a fancy, tossing 
the pebbles from side to side, and picking up the unfortunate being that may 
have lain under their shelter. The nest of this bird is situated upon the coast, 
and the bird is very valiant in its attacks upon the gulls which approach too 
near its home. A nest found by Mr. Hewitson “ was placed against a ledge of 
rock, and consisted of nothing more than the drooping leaves of the juniper- 
bush, under a creeping branch, by which the eggs, four in number, were snugly 
concealed, and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak 
and exposed rocks are visited, allowing just sufficient room for the bird to cover 
them.” 
It is a beautiful bird, boldly marked with black and white. 
21 fi 
