294 



COMMON CURLEW. 



times on account of its excessive shj^ness and wariness. 

 It feeds chiefly upon worms, slugs and insects, and 

 also upon small crabs and sand-worms. It has a very 

 long curved beak — some seven or eight inches in length 

 — with which it prods about in the soft soil to find its 



COMMON CURLEW. 



food. "They are more regular in repairing to their 

 haunts than any other birds ; to the minute they will 

 desert the moors and meadows to leave for the coast. 

 How Curlews can tell from inland fields, far from and 

 out of sight of the tide, the exact moment to make 



