OYSTER BAY, a village of Nassau county, New York, U.S.A., on the north shore of Long Island, 28 m. N.E. of the Brooklyn Borough Hall; served by the Long Island railroad and in summer by ferries to Greenwich, Stamford and New Rochelle. The summer population in 1928 was estimated locally at 8,500. Oyster Bay is a residential village, with many country estates in the vicinity. Oyster-dredging is the principal industry. It was the beloved home of Theodore Roosevelt, and his grave is on a hill side in Youngs Memorial cemetery. His home, "Sagamore Hill," stands on high ground, commanding delightful views. A seaside park, established as a memorial to Roosevelt, was opened in 1928. Oyster Bay harbour was explored by de Vries in Jane 1639. A settlement from Lynn (Mass.) was attempted in 164o but was prevented by Governor Kieft, and for some years the territory around the harbour was claimed by both English and Dutch. The first permanent settlement was made by Peter Wright and others from Massachusetts in 1653. The harbour was a famous smug gling centre at the end of the 17th century.
or SEA-PIE, a genus of wading birds, allied to the plovers. Conspicuous in both sexes by its black and white plumage and long red beak, the common oyster-catcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is found on all coasts from Iceland to the Red Sea. It feeds largely on marine worms, crustaceans and molluscs, and is very wary. The hen lays three clay-coloured eggs blotched with black, usually on a shingle-bank near the sea. The young are at first clothed in protectively coloured down and can run at once. Usually seen in pairs, oyster-catchers sometimes con gregate in large flocks. The courtship consists of a dance in which one or both birds run round piping. Sometimes this dance, losing its original significance, is performed as a social function by a number of birds.
The American species (H. palliatus) has a longer bill and less white on the back, and its call-note differs from the musical "tu-lup" of the European bird. Various other species occur, some of which are entirely black.