18 HJEMATOPUS OSTRALEGUS. 
turn stone ; one of which, he says, is chiefly confined to 
the southern, and the other to the northern parts of 
Great Britain. The difference, however, between these 
two appears to he no greater than 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 plumage, many varieties must necessarily 
appear, according to the different ages of the indi- 
viduals. 
GENUS XLI. — HJEMA TOP US y Linnaeus. 
200. H JEM AT OPUS OSTRALEGUS , LINNJEUS AND WILSON. 
PIED OYSTER-CATCHER. 
WILSON, PLATE LXIY. FIG. II. EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 
This singular species, although nowhere numerous, 
inhabits almost every sea shore, both on the new and 
old continent, hut is never found inland. It is the only 
one of its genus hitherto discovered, and, from the 
conformation of some of its parts, one might almost be 
led by fancy to suppose, that it had borrowed the eye 
of the pheasant, the legs and feet of the bustard, and 
the bill of the woodpecker. 
The oyster-catcher frequents 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, except about the season 
of breeding, will seldom permit a person to approach 
within gunshot. They walk along the shore in a 
watchful, stately manner, at times probing it with 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 depth. The 
small crabs called fiddlers, that burrow in the mud at 
the bottom of inlets, are frequently the prey of the 
oyster-catcher ; as are muscles, spout-fish, and a variety 
of other shell fish and sea insects with which those 
shores abound. 
