100 BULLETIlSr 14 6, UNITED STATES NATIOITAL MUSEUM 



and can sometimes be seen at a distance of 100 feet; she usually sits 

 very closely and can sometimes be approached within 8 or 10 feet 

 before flushing. 



In some notes sent to me by A. O, Treganza, from Box Elder and 

 Weber Counties, Utah, he says that in one " particular locality 

 (Weber County) the birds seem to be quite gregarious, possibly due 

 to food conditions. While there are many square miles of what seems 

 to be similar country, they seem to have chosen a very small area in 

 which to breed." Here he found sometimes two females sharing the 

 same nest, resulting in sets of from five to eight eggs. In other 

 localities, in Box Elder County, they do not seem to be at all gregari- 

 ous. In one instance he found four eggs of the western willet and 

 one of the curlew in a nest, with both the willet and curlew on guard. 



P. M. Silloway (1903) has had some extensive experience with the 

 nesting of the long-billed curlew in Fergus County, Mont. Some of 

 his nests were on the high dry prairie a long way from any water, 

 but most of them were in such situations as I have described above. 

 Several of his nests were in depressions beside dried cow dung, 

 where, perhaps, the bird was not quite so conspicuous; and chips 

 of dried coav dung often entered into the composition of the nest. 

 In a typical nest " the cavity was 8 inches across and 2 inches deep. 

 The brim of the nest was elevated an inch and a half above the 

 surroundings." He has written (1900 and 1903) some interesting ac- 

 counts of his experiences in hunting for nests, and sums up the 

 behavior of the birds as follows: 



The male curlew is a most jealous guardian of the premises near the nest. 

 When the female is sitting on her eggs, the male will denote a watchful interest 

 in the movements of anyone who is within several hundred yards of the nest. 

 At such times he will come flying from some quarter of the pasture, and with 

 angry cackling will alight near the disturber, impatiently feeding and watching 

 the movements of the one threatening the peace of his household. If the 

 observer approaches neai-er the nest the male will begin to fly at him in a 

 straight course, turning upward abruptly with a loud whifE of wings when it 

 seems that the disturber must certainly be struck by the determined defender of 

 his home. The nest may still be more than a hundred yards beyond the 

 observer. In the majority of instances it lies ahead in the line the male points 

 in his flight. As the disturber gets nearer, the male shows more distress and 

 flutters wildly overhead, flying at the disturber from every direction, though not 

 from long distances as before. All the while the female is sitting unconcerned 

 on her eggs, indifferent to the angry and distressed cackling of her spouse. 

 Perhaps by this time a half dozen or more other males have joined in the 

 outcry, and frequently one of these allies will try to mislead the disturber. 



The female sits very closely upon her eggs, flattening herself upon them in 

 such a manner that she resembles a dead chicken lying on the ground. When 

 flushed from the nest she will fly low for 30 or 40 feet or flutter from the nest 

 and run awkwardly for a short distance, feigning to be crippled. Frequently 

 she will lower her head, with bill almost touching the ground, and run alone 



