BIRDS OF 



fall they get quite numerous, and many may be seen along the 

 lake shore at one time, yet they are not gregarious, each 

 individual choosing its own time to arise, and place to alight. 

 The female is rather larger and more heavily spotted than the 

 male. 



Genus NUMENIUS Brisson. 



109. NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS Wils. 264. 



Lonp -billed Curle^v. 



Bill of extreme length and curvature, measuring from 5 to 8 or 9 inches ; 

 total length, about 2 feet ; wing a foot or less ; tail, about 4 ; tarsus, 2J to 2|. 

 Plumage very similar to that of the Godwit, prevailing tone rufous, of varing 

 intensity in different birds and in different parts of the same bird, usually 

 more intense under the wing than elsewhere ; below, the jugulum streaked, 

 and the breast and sides with arrow-heads and bars of dusky ; above, varie- 

 gated with black, especially on the crown, back and wmgs ; tail barred 

 throughout with black and rufous ; secondaries rufous ; primaries blackish 

 and rufous ; no pure white anywhere ; bill black, the under mandible flesh- 

 colored for some distance ; legs dark. 



Hab, Temperate North America, migrating south to Guatemala and 

 the West Indies. Breeds in the South Atlantic States, and in the interior 

 through most of its North American range. 



Nest on the prairies. 



Eggs 3 to 4 ; clay-color, blotched or spotted with umber-brown. 



The Long-billed Curlew is a bird of the prairie rather than 

 the coast, though it is often met with along the shores of the 

 sea. It is said to breed in suitable places from Carolina 

 to Minnesota, but is spoken of by Prof. Macoun as rare in the 

 Northwest. In Ontario, it is occasionally seen along the shores 

 of the Lakes, but only as an irregular visitor and not in large 

 numbers. Among the veteran sportsmen near Hamilton, it is 

 spoken of as one of the kinds which have been scared away by the 

 railroads. Whether the snorting of the locomotive has anything 

 to do with the disappearance of the birds from their former 

 haunts is hard to say, but certain it is that the number of 

 Waders and Swimmers we now see is small as compared with 

 former years. 



