Oyster Catcher
in ornithology, on flat, sandy coasts. The head, neck, pean bird, about 16 inches long, common OYSTER, a well-known edible shell fish, belonging to the genus ostrea, occurring in most parts of the world. The European oyster (O. edulis), which forms a considerable article of trade on the coasts of England and France, is taken by dredging, after which the animals are placed in pits formed for the purpose, furnished with sluices, through which, at spring tides, the water is sufcles they fered to flow. In these receptacles they glossy black, the rest of the plumage in the European oyster, and which is latter half of the tail feathers are deep considered as adding to their value. glossy black, the rest of the plumage long, is a rich ruddy color, deepest at the The breeding time of oysters is in April pure white. The bill, about three inches or May, from which time to July or August, the oysters are said to be "sick," or "in the milk." This is known by the appearance of a milky substance in the gills. Oysters attain a size fit for the table in about a year and a half, and are in their prime at three years of age.
From the observations and experiments of naturalists, it appears that they can move from place to place by sudthey can move from place to place by suding the water contained between them with sufficient force to throw themselves backward, or in a lateral direction. with sufficient force to throw themselves tion of oyster shells, though exceedingly pure and white, is suited for work which does not require great tenacity, as for plastering rooms.
The oysters most esteemed in the United States are the Virginian oyster cinity of maritime cities are generally thickly beset with poles, indicating the localities of oyster beds. The principal sources of supply are the Chesapeake Bay, the coast of New Jersey, and Long Island Sound.
Formerly the oyster beds were almost Bay, the coast of New Jersey, and Long seed oysters from Chesapeake Bay and from the Hudson river; but of late years wholly kept up by restocking them with and new ground in the vicinity is brought OYSTER CATCHER wedge-like termination. Oyster catcher base; very much compressed, with a is a misnomer, for the bird feeds mostly on mussels and limpets, though it frequently takes to the water in search of food. The bird seems to lay its head sideways on the ground, and then, grasping the limpet's shell close to the rock between the mandibles, uses them as scissor-blades to cut off the mollusk from eral American species of wading birds its sticking place. Also any of the sevof the genus Hæmatopus.