GREAT CURLEW AND WHIMBREL 67 



along his bill until he can swallow it, and that done 

 he searches for another. He is there, and so are 

 you ; move you dare not, for there is no chance of a 

 shot yet. Your quarry has run farther away ; but 

 something is not quite to his taste, he comes back 

 just within shot ; something has made him suspicious, 

 for his head is up. It is no use yet ; rise you must 

 not, he may turn his back and feed again. He does 

 so, and now for it ! The gun is clear for a rise, but 

 directly the top of a cap gets above the hurdles he 

 sees it, and rises screaming with fright, as a Curlew 

 can scream. Missed after all ! Shot above him as 

 he went away. What's that crack ? He's down with 

 a broken wing, one or two pellets hit him on the 

 wing-bone and it has snapped ; but not near the 

 body : it is a very bad case of wing-tip. Now catch 

 him ! Do not hurry at the start or you will be 

 winded ; that Curlew is in better racing trim than 

 you are. 



Take it steady ! How he does run and scream ; 

 putting up a covey of Partridges and a trip of Ring 

 Dotterels that had come here from the tide, as they 

 so very often do. After a long run he gets entangled 

 in some creeping brambles and we get him ; not to 

 kill, for he may be got to feed, and I think he can 

 be studied for a bit. The wildest birds are the most 

 confident, if you can but get them to eat. 



Birds, like common humanity, are seriously in- 

 fluenced by hard times. I have seen mobs of 

 Curlews when food was in profusion and all went 

 well ; and they were as cautious then in prosperity 



