The Cnrlezvs. 



'75 



THE 



WHIMBREL. 



{Nutnfuius phiFopus.) 



The Whimbrel. 



The Whimbrel is a 

 much smaller bird than 

 the Curlew, and the sexes 

 are ot about the same size, 

 while the bill is only a little over three inches 

 in length. In winter the lower back is pure 

 white, but in summer plumage it is streaked 

 with black, and the under surface is distinctly 

 streaked with black as well. The Whimjjrel 

 is a summer visitor to Great Britain, though 

 some remain over the winter, and a few breed 

 on the moors in the North of Scotland. It 

 nests on the tundra of Northern Europe from 

 Scandinavia to the Petchora River, and pos- 

 sibly in Central Siberia. The Whimbrel re- 

 sembles the Curlew in habits, and breeds on 

 the moors, collecting in flocks in the autumn. 

 The nest is merely a little hollow among the 



heather, with a lining of a few dried grasses. The eggs are like those of the Curlew, 

 but are smaller, measuring from two to nearly two-and-a-half inches in length. 



The small size of this Curlew distinguishes it from the 

 Whimbrel, like which bird it has a pale stripe down the middle 

 of the crown, and it has plain-coloured primary quills ; the lower 

 back and rump are like the back, and not white. It has occurred 

 at intervals in England, Scotland and Ireland, but its native home is in North 



America. The nest is only a depression 

 in the ground, with a slight lining of dry 

 grass ; the eggs are four in number, 

 measuring about two-and-a-half inches in 

 length, and are olive-brown, with the 

 usual brown and grey spots and blotches 

 seen on all Waders' eggs. 



The Godwits, in- 

 stead of a curved bill, 

 have the latter slightly 

 upturned, or nearl}' 

 straight. In summer 

 both species of Godwit are remarkable for 

 their red breasts, which are replaced by a 

 white breast in the winter, while the x'oung 

 birds have a buft tinge on the under parts. 



THE ESKIMO 

 CURLEW. 



{Nuiiunlus burealis.) 



THE 



BAR-TAILED 



GODWIT. 



{Liiiwsn lapponica.) 



The Eskimo Curlew. 



