32 T U R N S T O N E .
have been informed, are obtained there, and along the coast of Maine,
in the latter part of July;
I haye found this bird much more shy when in company with other
species-» than when in flocks by itself, when it appears to suspect no
danger from man. Many instances of this seeming inattention have
occurred to me,- among others the following:—When I was on the
island of Galveston in To.xae, my friend EDWARD .HARRIS, my son, and
some others our party, had shot four deer, which the -sailors had
brought to our little camp near the shore: Feeling myself -rather fatigued,
I did not return to; the bushes wit h the rest, who went: in search
of more venison for our numerous crew, but proposed, with the assistance
off one of the sailors, to skin the deer. After each animal was
stripped of its hide, and deprived of its head and feet, wlii,ch were
thrown away, the sailor and I took it: to the water and washed it. To
my surprise, I observed four Turnstones directly in our »ay to the;
water. They merely ran to a little distance, out of our course, and oft
our returning, came back immediately to the same, place j this they
did four different tiines, and, after we were done, they remained busilyengaged
in searching for food. None of them was more than fifteen
or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with
which they turned over tho oyster-shells, clods oT mud, and other small
bodies left, exposed by, tho retiring tide, Whenever the, object, was
not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill
beneath it, and with a sudden quiek jerk of the head pushed it off,
when it; quickly picked up the food which was thus exposed to viSsj(,;
and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation.
In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-Shells;or clods
of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would
use not only the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object
with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have
undergone- in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that
had been cast on the shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage
from side to side, with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold. In
this manner, I saw these four Turnstones examine almost ¿very part
of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards ; after which I
drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return.
On another occasion, when in compaiiy with Mr HARRIS, and on
the same island I witnessed the pleasing proceeding, several
T U R N S T O N E . 33
Turnstones being engaged in searching for food in precisely the same
manner; At other times, and especially when in the neighbourhood of
St Augustine, in East Florida, I used to amuse myself with watching
these birds on the racoon-oyster banks, using my glass for the purpose.
I observed that they would search for such oysters as had been killed
by the heat of the sun, and pick out their flesh precisely in the manner
of our. Common •Oyster-catcher, Hamatopus palliatus, while they
would.Strike at such small bivalves as had thin shells,- and break them,
as I afterwards ascertained, by walking to the spot. While on the
Florida coast, near Cape Sable, I shot one in the month of May, that
had its stomach filled with those beautiful shells, which, on account of
their resemblance to grains of rice, are commonly named rice-shells.
I have always looked upon the Turnstone, while at its avocations,
as a species very nearly allied to the Oyster-catcher; and, although it
certainly differs in some particulars, were I to place it in a position
determined by its affinities, I should remove it at once from the Tringa
family. Its mode of searching for food around pebbles and other objects,
the comparative strength of its legs, i t s retiring disposition, and
its loud whistling notes while on wing, will, I think, prove at some
period that what I have ventured to advance may be in accordance
with the only true system, by which I mean Nature's own system,
could one be so fortunate as to understand it.
While this species remains in the United States, although its residence
is protracted to many months, very few individuals are met with
in as complete; plumage as the one represented in my plate with the
wings fully extended; for out of a vast number of specimens procured
from the beginning of March to the end of May, or from August to
May, I have scarcely found two to correspond precisely in their markings.
For this reason, no doubt exists in my mind that this species, as well
as the Knot and .several others, loses its rich summer plumage soon
after the breeding season, when the oldest become scarcely distinguishable
from the young. In the spring months, however, I have observed
that they gradually improve in beauty, and acquire full-coloured feathers
in patches on the upper and lower surfaces of the body, in the
same manner as the Knot, the Red-breasted Snipe,' the Godwits, and
several other species.. According to Mr HEWITSON, the eggs are four in
number, rather suddenly pointed towards the smaller end, generally an
inch and four and a half eighths in length, an inch and one and a half
. - VOL. IV. C