128 Birds of Colorado 



at elevations of 10,000 to 11,000 feet near Gold Hill ; 

 Warren's nest and eggs were taken June 30th, while 

 Allen's nest at 12,000 feet was found as late as July 24th. 



Genus NUMENIUS. 



Bill long, sometimes abnormally so, slender, down-curved and arched, 

 the tip of the upper mandible slightly knobbed and projecting beyond 

 the lower ; legs stout, tarsus covered in front with transverse scutes, 

 elsewhere with reticulate scales ; hind toe well developed, a basal web 

 between the anterior toes best developed between the middle and outer. 



A cosmopolitan genus of about nine species, three of which are 

 common in North Anaerica, The smallest of these, the Eskimo Curlew 

 (Numenius borealis), is not yet known from Colorado, but should be 

 looked for as it is quite common on spring migration in Kansas. It is 

 included in the key. 



Key of the Species. 



A. Large — wing 10 to 12, bill 4 to 8 ; primaries varied with rufous. 



N. americanus, p. 128. 



B. Medium — wdng 9 to 10, bill 3 to 4 ; pi'imaries varied with rufous 



or whitish. N. hudsonicus, p. 129. 



C. Small — wing under 9, bill 2 to 2*5 ; primaries without rufous. 



N. borealis. 



Long-billed Curlew. Numenius americanus. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 264 — Colorado Records — Say 23, vol. ii., p. 4 ; 

 Aiken 72, p. 210 (2V. longirostris) ; Henshaw 75, p. 461 ; Morrison 89, 

 p. 168 ; Lowe 92, p. 101 ; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 67, 200 ; Henderson 03, 

 p. 235 ; 09, p. 228 ; Warren 06, p. 19 ; 09, p. 14 ; Rockwell 08, p. 160 ; 

 Felger 09, p. 290. 



Description. — Adult — General colour above pale tawny rufous, 

 mingled with dusky black ; streaky on the head and neck, more barred 

 on the back ; primaries plain dusky on the outside web, barred with 

 rufous on the inside ; below pale tawny with narrow dusky streaks on 

 the fore-neck and chest, becoming nearly white on the throat ; bill 

 black, paler on the lower mandible ; legs dark bluish-gi-ey. Length of 

 a male 20; wing 11-0; tail 3-9; culmen 5-6; tarsus 3-0. The bill 

 of a female taken the same day measures 7-5. There is little seasonal 

 or sexual variation in the plumage, but the intensity of the rufous and 

 the length of the bill varies a good deal with individuals. Coues states 

 tho bill varies from four to eight inches in extreme cases. 



