364 CHARADRIIDZ 
side, where it may be found amid the shelter of a heather- 
tuft. I have discovered it on the bare ground on a 
mountain in co. Mayo. In some instances the nest is 
sparsely lined with small bits of sticks and withered grass. 
On bog-lands in Ireland, as pointed out by Mr. Ussher, 
many pairs breed in close proximity, though not assembling 
in colonies. The eggs, four in number, are olive-green, 
thickly spotted and blotched with brown. Incubation 
begins towards the end of April. 
When the breeding-haunts are intruded upon, especially 
Fig, 49.-LEFT FOOT OF CURLEW. 4 Nat. size. 
when the young are running about, the parent-birds are 
bold to a degree, and will brush past the head of an 
intruder, at the same time uttering shrill, menacing cries. 
The Curlew breeds in many counties in England, most 
numerously in the north, also in some of the midlands, 
and more sparingly in the south-western section. In the 
