HCEMATOPUS o s t r a l e g u S, Linn.
Oyster-catcher.
Hcematopus ostralegus, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 257.
Ostralegus hcematopus, Macgill. Man. of Nat. Hist., Om., vol. ii. p. 5#.
—- vulgaris. Less. Rev. Zool., 1849,-p. 47.
W h y lias this bird been called Oyster-catcher, when it is said by most observers never to feed upon that
species of mollusk, but to be extremely fond d f the common limpet, which it dexterously detaches from the
rocks left bare by the tide ? Thompson, who has studied more fully the food o f our native birds than
perhaps any other writer, says:— '• The OstreaTiihabitsrtoo deep water to be ever accessible to the bird.
The contents of the stomachs .»7 eight, individuals, shot in spring, autumn, and winter, proved, on
examination, to be as follows: fite contained only the opercula and^nortions o f the animal of the whelk
(Littorina continuum), with which some of them were wholly filled; one exhibited the opercula o f Purpurea
lapiilus; another presented a good deal o f vegetable matter (consisting of tender roots and green leaves),
small, white, worm-like larvae, a few opercula o f the whelk, and an operculum of Buccinum undatum; in the
stomach and crop o f the last, which was remarkably fat, were fifty opercula of large whelks, about twenty-
five animals of good-sized limpets ( Patella vulgaris), and an holothuria (Gucumaria)” .
Having commenced this history of a species so common, so attractive, and which plays so important a
part among our shore-loving birds, by showing that its trivial name, like that of the Goat-sucker, is a
misnomer, I procojed to state th at it is found on every p art o f the coasts o f England, Ireland, and Scotland
suited to its'habits. Being a winter as well as a summer bird in the British Islands, it must be considered
indigenous with i s. Unlike the Turnstone, the Grey Plover, and some other Grallatorial birds, which
frequently desert whole districts and even entire countries for a time, the present species rarely changes the
locality in which ijt has tak e s up its abode, and, consequently, may almost to a certainty be found, any day
in the year by those arq«M.s«i»-d with its habits and its usual places of resort! It is a strikingly showy bird,
whether seen on fhe low rocky of the coast or on the shingly beach of such rivers as the Don
and th e Dee, whj;re it somefe,* - breeds. Apart from Britain, the Oyster-catelter is enumerated in the
avifaunas o f all the countries o f E u ro p e ; indeed it* range extends from the Arctic circle to the Mediterranean,
and eastlrard as far as In d ia ; but as yet we do not know if it has been observed in China, the
bird brought from that country by Mr. Swinhoe, which at first was considered identical, proving, on
further examination, to be distinct and probably Hcematopus longirostris. Other species of this form are
distributed over certain parts o f the globe; in the Old World some are found in Europe, throughout
the greater parti of Africa, India, China, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand; and others in America,
from the Uuitjx! States to Terra del Fuego,—the -whole probably amounting to -ten or twelve in
“ The Oystej -catcher o f Europe,” says S ir William Jardine, in a note to his edition of Wilson’s ‘ American
Ornithology,’ ‘ is to be-found on all the sandy British coasts in immense abundance. All those I have
observed breeding, have ek*Mtu b«r rocky coasts, and deposited their eggs on some shelf or ledge, merely
baring the surface fotwa ¡my woi& or other substance covering the rock. When approached, the parents
fly round, utt iring with great their clamorous note. A great many old aud young birds are
always to be found on the** ««Svemng the monotony of an extensive sand-beach with (heir clean
and lively appearance and their sdtrdi mule* As the young begin to assemble, the flocks increase; by the
month o f Ang ust they consist of many : and at full tide they may be seen, like an extensive black
line, at the distance o f miles. The) M rest until about half tide, when a general motion is made,
and the line may be seen broken as the ibflm’at parties advance close to the water’s edge. After this they
keep pace w>th the reflux until the ¡ e c d v ; •'. u begin to be uncovered, o f which they seem to have an
instinctive knowledge, when they leave their : in small troops,—taking day after day the same
course. They are difficult to approach ; but wise-» one is shot the flock will hover over it for some time,
without heeding the intruder. During flight they as«nmc the wedge-shape ( > ) , like Ducks. They feed
a t night when the tide is suitable, and are often very noisy. Mussels and other shell-fish, crabs, &c. Stc.
are their moi t common food.”
Mr. Hewi'son says, “ the Oyster-catcher is very particular in the selection o f a site for its eggs, always
making choice o f a piece o f gravel, or stony ground if to be met with near, more especial)v should it be
mixed with I »roken shells, to which it shows a curious partiality, carefully collecting them together, and
arranging t.i| em in a slight hole in the ground, and, when these are not to be found, selecting in their stead