Nebraska Ornithologists' Union 31 



On the Pacific coast south of Alaska this bird was always very 

 rare. A lone specimen was shot over decoys at San Diego, Cali- 

 fornia, September, 1883, and was the only one seen"*. Mr. P. I. 

 Hoagland, who is well acquainted with this bird in Nebraska, 

 states that a number of years ago he saw a flock of about a dozen 

 birds at Coronado Beach, near Tia Juana, California, and that he 

 shot a few birds from this bunch. 



In Labrador the Eskimo Curlews were aliundant until about 

 1876, according to observations reported to Townsend and 

 Allen-", but there was a great and sudden falling off in numbers 

 about 1886. Other observers place the sudden decline in 189P'^ 

 or 1892''''. Bigelow states that after 1892 the birds appeared no 

 more in numbers, and while in Labrador in September, 1900, he 

 heard of only about a dozen being seen on the coast, and of these 

 he personally saw five'^"\ According to Dr. W. T. Grenfell the 

 birds became scarce in the 80's in Labrador, and in 1892 he saw 

 only two flocks of any size. In 1906 he heard of a few dozen 

 being killed, but did not see one-^'. During the years 1908-1911 

 the birds were not noted in Labrador* '\ but in August and Sep- 

 tember, 1912, eight Eskimo Curlews were seen on the beach at 

 West Bay, north of Cartwright, Labrador, and seven of these 

 were shot, while the skins of five were saved and sent to Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, by Dr. Grenfell, where they were seen 

 and identified by Mr. William Brewster''' 



During the period of abundance in Labrador these birds were 

 continually and heavily slaughtered. One hunter states that the 

 fishermen killed them by thousands, and he had personally shot 

 a himdred before breakfast^". Another hunter, quoted by Car- 

 roll"", said that he did not remember having secured less than 

 thirty or forty brace in a two hours' shoot, and in a day's shoot- 

 ing by twenty-five or thirty men as many as two thousand birds 

 would be killed for the Hudson Bay Company's store at Cart- 

 wright. 



''Holterhoff. G. Auk. i, p. ."/J^. 1884. 



■'•'Bigelow, H. B. Auk. xix. p. 29, 1902. 



•'Townsend. C. W. Auk, xxx, p. 10. 1913. 



"'Carroll. W. J. Forest and Stream, Ixxiv, p. 372 (1910). 



