7 NOVEMBER 1947, Page 14

A Turnstone Card

The selection of the turnstone for the Christmas card of the Norfolk Naturalists' Trust recalls to me the first time I saw this amusing bird at very close quarters. It was in Cornwall in the quaint little harbour of Mousehole, which is as fitly named as the bird. I saw almost at my feet a turnstone turning up stone after stone with such absorption that it took no notice whatever of the observer, and it seemed to find a satisfactory amount of food under most of •them. Its movements are oddly baffling. One would have expected it, like its near relation the oyster-catcher, to nest in Britain, but it doesn't. It is classed as a " gregarious migrant." but may be seen singly or in pairs or in company at widely separated dates and places. Mr. Harrison has given it a very pictorial setting.