44 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



nesting time would seem to suggest that it is scouring 

 the moors in search of something, but I have not the 

 least doubt that it is never guilty of taking the eggs of 

 other birds. What may happen is this — an egg thief 

 comes along, the curlews catch him in the act, and with 

 characteristic concern they hover above and even alight 

 on the earth near by. The keeper watches them, and going 

 up finds the devastated nest. The circumstantial evidence 

 against the poor curlews is very strong, but all the 

 accusations I have heard against this bird as an egg 

 thief might be explained away as above. We might 

 argue that it would be impossible to eat boiled rice by 

 means of chop sticks but that we know that it is very 

 frequently done, but, given the same latitude, it is hard 

 to believe that the curlew, considering the curious design 

 of his bill, can ever have acquired the habit of draining 

 eggs. Eating soup with a fork would be a simple task 

 compared with such a feat. 



The anxious solicitude of parent curlews for their 

 young is pathetic to watch. The shepherd's dog crossing 

 the moor a mile away is watched with the utmost vigilance, 

 and should he draw nearer, one of the birds swoops 

 towards him, almost lashing him with its wings, and 

 resorting to every endeavour it knows to turn the direction 

 of the trespasser, while the other parent herds and hustles 

 the chicks to a place of greater safety, finally inducing 

 them to lie concealed in different hiding places. But 

 curlew chicks seem to be among the most wayward of 

 earth's simple children. For a time they lie obediently 

 hidden, but very soon they tire of it. One pokes up its 

 head, then another, answering in soft, feeble notes the 

 wild, strong call of their parents flying and alighting 

 near by. Then one gets up and begins to stumble among 

 the tussocks on clumsy chicken legs, another gets up and 

 stumbles in the opposite direction, while in the interim 



