COMMON CURLEW. 273 



all suitable districts. Its breeding area extends from 

 Cornwall and Devonshire to Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, 

 Hants, and most of the uplands of Wales. Thence it 

 extends northwards through the Peak district, Lincoln- 

 shire, the entire Pennine Chain (including the Isle of 

 Man), and the Cheviots. Across the Border the bird b^ • 

 comes more abundant, and is widely distributed through- 

 out Scotland, north to the Orkneys and Shetlands, and 

 west to the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland it is equally 

 widely dispersed and common. 



Breeding habits : The Curlew is a resident in the 

 British Islands, but like many other species it changes 

 its ground a good deal with the season, is subject to 

 much local movement, and its numbers are increased in 

 winter by arrivals from the Continent. The breeding- 

 grounds of the Curlew are moorlands, especially those 

 of a swampy nature, and at a considerable distance 

 above sea-level, rough uninclosed mountain pastures, and 

 arable uplands. In March or early in April the Curlews 

 begin to leave the coasts, and to return to their breeding- 

 haunts, pairing, and scattering themselves up and down 

 the moors and rough lands. The nest is invariably 

 made on the ground, generally on some dry part of the 

 moor, under the shelter of a bush, or in the centre of a 

 tuft of grass or rushes, but occasionally the eggs are laid 

 on the rough fallows without nest of any kind. The 

 nest is a mere shallow hollow, sparingly lined with a 

 few bits of withered herbage or dead leaves. Although 

 the Curlew can scarcely be regarded as gregarious at 

 this season, numbers of birds often breed within com- 

 paratively small areas, and when one pair is disturbed 

 the entire locality is soon in commotion. The bird sits 

 lightly, rising from the nest at the first alarm, often 

 given by its watchful mate, and becomes noisy enough 

 as it flies about in alarm. 



T 



