rds Act, had shot this pair of Turnstones, as had they
been left I have no doubt we should have seen them, and probably found
the eggs, and quite settled the question of the Turnstone's breeding
there. I have long been very sceptical on this subject, but now I have
very little doubt, as I think, seeing the birds about, paired, in
Guernsey in June and the pair shot in Herm, the female with eggs in
June, pretty well removes any doubt as to the Turnstone breeding in the
Islands, and I do not see why it should not, as it breeds quite as far
south in the Azores, and almost certainly in the Canaries.[18] Mr. Rodd,
however, tells me he does not believe in its breeding in the Scilly
Islands, though it is seen about there throughout the year, as it is in
the Channel Islands. Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks on Professor Ansted's
list, merely says, "The Turnstone is found about the neighbourhood of
Herm throughout the year." It occurs also in Alderney in the autumn, but
I have not seen it there in the breeding-season.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, but only marks it as occurring
in Guernsey. There are a male and female, in breeding plumage, in the
Museum, and also one in winter plumage.

109. OYSTERCATCHER, _Haematopus ostralegus_, Linnaeus. French, "Hiutrier
pie."--The Guernsey Bird Act includes these birds under the name
'Piesmarans,' which is the name given to the Oystercatcher by all the
French-speaking fishermen and boatmen, and which I suppose must be
looked upon only as the local name, though I have no doubt it is the
common name also on the neighbouring coast of Normandy and Brittany. The
Oystercatcher is resident all the year, and breeds in all the Islands; I
think, however, its numbers are considerably increased in the autumn by
migratory arrivals; certainly the numbers actually breeding in the
Islands are not sufficient to account for the immense flocks one sees
about in October and November. There seem, however, to be considerable
numbers remaining in flocks throughout the summer, without apparently
the slightest intention of separating for breeding purposes, as I have
often counted as many as forty or fifty together in June and July. The
Oystercatcher breeds in Guernsey itself about the cliffs. Mr. Howard
Saunders, Colonel l'Estrange and myself found one very curiously placed
nest of the Oystercatcher on the ridge of a hog-backed rock at the
bottom of the cliff, near the south end of the Island; it was not