CURLEW-BILLED SANDPIPER. 221 



on the European continent it occurs on the borders of the 

 sea and lakes, seldom going far inland ; feeds on insects and 

 worms, as well as sea-weeds ; and lays four or five eggs, of a 

 yellowish colour with brown spots. 



Young. — Having, while writing this article, a fresh 

 specimen shot on the 12th of September, 1840, at Mussel- 

 burgh, by Mr. Thomas Fraser, who presented it to my son, 

 I may here describe it, as it appears to be a young bird in its 

 first plumage. The bill is black, the lower mandible tinged 

 with olive-brown toward the base ; the iris dusky brown ; 

 the feet dark olive ; the toes black. The upper part of 

 the head and the nape are blackish-brown, streaked with 

 brownish-white ; from the bill over the eye is a band of 

 greyish-white, minutely streaked with dusky ; the loral 

 band dusky ; the throat white ; the fore-neck and part of 

 the breast and sides pale yellowish-brown, approaching to 

 cream-colour, the neck being faintly streaked with dusky ; 

 the rest of the lower parts white, excepting the smaller 

 coverts margining the wings, which are greyish-black, with 

 white margins. The sides of the head and neck, with a 

 large portion of the hind-neck, pale brownish-grey, streaked 

 with grey ; the feathers of the lower hind-neck, back, and 

 wings are greyish-black, darker toward the margins, which 

 are white or brownish-white, the scapulars glossed with 

 green. The quills and larger coverts are greyish-black, the 

 latter tipped with white, the former with the shafts white 

 about the middle, their bases white, but not apparent, the 

 extent of that colour enlarging on the inner quills, the tips 

 of the outer secondaries margined with white. The upper 

 tail-coverts and some of the feathers of the rump white, 

 faintly margined with dusky ; the tail-feathers grey, glossed 

 with green, darker toward the margins, but edged with 

 white, the shafts of the outer and part of their inner webs 

 white. It is seen, on dissection, to be a female. 



Length 8^ inches ; extent of wings 16^ ; bill along the 

 ridge 1\%, along the edge 1J; wing from flexure 5^-; tail 

 1^ ; tarsus 1-jV ', third toe ^-, its claw ^-. 



