BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 57 



the Order, of which it is, in fact, the largest British 

 representative. No description of the Curlew is necessary, 

 for it must be known to all, so familiar is the sight of a 

 score of them in long line, or in V-formation, flying over 

 the cultivated land on their way from moor to shore, a 

 daily journey at some seasons of the year. An occasional 

 loud rallying cry draws our attention to the passage of 

 the wild clan — long bills clearly outlined against the sky, 

 long wings beating in rapid flight, long legs trailing in 

 their wake. The long, down-turned bill is of course the 

 head-mark of the species, and it may be noted that long 

 bills, whether decurved, upturned, or straight, are common 

 among Waders, and are used for probing in sand, mud, and 

 soft ground. They are well adapted for this purpose 

 apart from their shape, the tips being well furnished with 

 nerves, and thus forming delicate organs of touch. Long 

 legs usually go with long bills, and are characteristic of 

 Waders, most of which, by the way, can run at an astonish- 

 ing rate. Of the plumage it need only be said that it is 

 protectively coloured, the sober browns harmonising well 

 with any dark background of 'neutral' tint. 



Throughout the year the Curlew is found round the 

 coasts of the British Isles ; but it nests only on heaths and 

 moors, and is therefore absent from much of the east and 

 south of England, and is always apt to be local where 

 cultivation is general, for it is a true bird of the wild, and 

 does not adapt its habits to suit the ever-spreading effects 

 of modern civilisation. Its typical haunts are therefore in 

 the great tracts of waste lands where natural wild con- 

 ditions still prevail. In the north of Scotland, for instance, 

 it is comparatively abundant. There it is known as 'the 

 Whaup,"" and is an object of popular superstition, as can 

 well be understood. 



On the moors, then, it lays its four eggs in April in a 



H 



