446 
Major W. R. Thompson on tlie [Ibis, 
resting, in a neatly rounded hollow. I was at first much 
puzzled over this circumstance and imagined it was a 
method adopted by the bird to conceal its eggs ; but lat¬ 
terly, and with more experience o£ other small objects 
resting on this sand—some of which are still beneath it,— 
I have inclined to the opinion that it was due to the wind 
blowing the sand over the nest and thus filling up the hollow 
and almost covering the eggs. This would naturally not 
take place when the bird was sitting. 
Eudromias morinellus. The Dotterel. 
L. has shot three — one in 1898, one in 1900, and 
one in 1902—all in the early spring. He has one in his 
collection. I saw two of these birds in the flesh, which had 
been shot by a man in Longy Bay on the 1st of September, 
1919. 
Vanellus vanellus. The Lapwing. 
There are usually a few about during the autumn and 
winter months, but these are often augmented by the arrival 
of large flocks during hard weather. 1 saw a flock of ten 
as late as the 1st of April, 1914. I have no evidence that 
they breed here, and have not seen them here in the 
summer. 
Haematopus ostralegus. The Oystercatcher. 
The Oystercatcher is a very common resident, breeding 
numerously in the vicinity. I do not think its numbers are 
appreciably, if at all, affected by migration. During the 
years 1913 and 1914, I had frequently noticed a white 
variety of this bird. It was usually to be seen feeding 
among the others in the neighbourhood of Longy Bay. 
It appeared to be almost pure white, and, at a distance, had 
much the appearance of a Kittiwake, showing up plainly 
against the dark background of seaweed and rock. On my 
return to Alderney in the autumn of 1918, I again saw a 
white Oystercatcher in the same neighbourhood. Was it, 
I wonder, the same bird? 
The Oystercatcher usually lays three eggs, but I have on 
