Mr. H. Durnford on North-Frisian Ornithology. 39 7 
Crex pratensis. 
A single bird rose at onr feet while hunting over some 
sedgy and heathy ground at the south end of Amrum. 
ClCONIA ALBA. 
Common in every village, and almost every homestead, on 
the mainland, but not observed on the islands, except a pair 
on the coast of Fohr, which had probably crossed over as 
visitors. 
ILematopus ostralegus. Frisice “ Canlite.” 
Common on the islands and mainland. Has its nest on 
the sandhills or shingle of the beach. I observed one swim¬ 
ming in the sea off Sylt. We reckoned about a hundred 
pairs nesting on Sudfall. 
K/ECurvirostra avocetta. Frisice Diicker.” 
On the 28th May we saw three or four pairs of Avocets 
feeding in a marsh on the left bank of the Creek near Husum, 
and shot a female bird containing an egg in a forward state, as 
she flew from a marsh on the right side of the creek. The nests 
were evidently in the latter place, as the two birds feigned lame¬ 
ness ; but after a long and unsuccessful hunt we gave up the 
search. On the 30th we again visited the marsh, but found 
labourers engaged in it and no Avocets ; on walking past the 
men’s coats, which had been thrown in a heap on the ground, 
we saw lying there three Avocet’s eggs among some Tern’s and 
Kentish Plover’s. They had found them whilst working on 
the marsh, and gave them to us. We watched several birds 
on the 7th June, as well as on a previous occasion, for fully 
half an hour, through good glasses, feeding on the soft ooze, 
and we never detected any lateral motion of the beak; they 
took their food like ordinary surface-feeding Sandpipers. We 
did not see this species on any of the islands or elsewhere on 
the mainland. 
Yanellus cristatus. 
Common everywhere, and a perfect nuisance to us; for 
whenever we wanted to watch any bird a screaming Peewit 
was sure to be circling overhead. 
