360 CHARADRIIDAi 
they remain on the coast throughout the summer. An 
influx of birds, migrating northward, takes place in spring 
(March and April), when the loud cries of thousands may 
be heard in the darkness of the mght at a considerable 
altitude.’ When these travellers sojourn on our coasts for 
a short time, they mass into great throngs which are main- 
tained as they continue their journey northward. But in 
addition, many are resident, or at least breed in the British 
Isles. These usually retire inland to their nestinz-sites, 
some weeks before the spring-migrants arrive, and return 
to the coast about the middle of July. 
Partial though this species may be to low-lying and 
sandy coasts, 1t also searches among the fwcuws-covered rocks 
and shingle for food. In fact, few localities come amiss to 
its adaptable habits, provided that human traffic is not too 
great. 
The Curlew is eagerly sought for by the gunner, being 
a bird of considerable size, and fit for table-use2 It 
is exceptionally wary and restless, and can seldom be 
approached within guushot-range on open ground. I have 
watched numbers (from behind a large rock) alight at 
their feeding-grounds, often only forty yards from me. I 
have noted how hundreds, congregated on the remote 
Atlantic-facing shores of Western Kerry, would quit the 
beach as the tide advanced, and fly over the cliffs, several 
hundred feet high, to the ploughed fields in search of earth- 
worms, a favourite meal. 
On one occasion, I observed a Curlew alight on a small 
ledge on the face of a cliff in the co. Galway, where it 
crouched with a flock of clamorous Jackdaws and Kitti- 
wakes, to escape the notice of a Peregrine that was lurking 
overhead. 
Curlews frequently disperse themselves over the shores 
and islands of inland lakes and rivers, occasionally perching 
on tree-stumps, and even among the higher branches. 
Though active night-feeders, it is remarkable how feebly 
' On these great migration-nights, the cries of several familiar 
species, e.g., Redshanks, Pee-wits, Ringed Plovers, and others, may be 
heard mingled with the more powertul Curlew’s whistle. 
* The flesh of old Curlews which have inhabited the sea-beach for 
several successive seasons, is liable to be fishy and unpalatable. 
%’ T have shot many Curlews in ploughed fields with their mouths 
and gullets packed with wriggling earth-worms. 
