NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 135 



in the soil, but sometimes constructed with hay and moss. The familiar 

 little Spotted Sandpiper is an extremely abundant bird throughout North 

 America, breeding everywhere. It winters in the Southern States and 

 beyond. Every lazy fisherman and idle school boy, who has whiled away 

 many a balmy and hot summer day along the banks of streams, knows 

 this bird well by the bobbing and tilting movements of its body and tail 

 and its peculiar note, peet-zvcet, peet-zvcct, as it flies up and down and 

 across the streams. It is known by many a curious nickname; " Teeter- 

 tail," "Tip-up," "Sandlark," " Peet-weet " and others. 



558. Long-billed Curlew — numenius longirostris. The large Sickle- 

 bill inhabits the entire temperate North America, breeding nearly 

 throughout its range. It is migratory northward and is resident from the 

 Carolinas south to Mexico. It nests very abundantly on the South 

 Atlantic coast, and on the prairies of the Northwest. Unlike others of 

 its genus it is not a bird of high latitude. The eggs of the Long-billed 

 Curlew are three or four in number; and almost exactly resemble those of 

 the Willet, but are larger, measuring from 2.45 to 2.80 in length by 1.80 to 

 1.90 in breadth; they are, however, more of a pyriform shape than the 

 eggs of the Willet. In common with other waders the eggs are deposited 

 on the ground in a slight hollow lined with a few grasses. This Curlew 

 may be known from all others by its large size and very long, curved 

 bill, measuring from four to six or eight inches. Two specimens of this 

 species have come into my hands which were killed at the Licking Reser- 

 voir, Ohio. It may sometimes breed at St. Mary's Reservoir, in Mercer 

 county, and other localities of Northwestern Ohio, as it is known to breed 

 in Northern Illinois. 



559. Hudsonian Curlew — numenius hudsonicus. Ashy-yellow, the 

 markings are large and bold, of different shades of chocolate and umber- 

 brown. The eggs of this species can only be distinguished from the 

 following species by their larger size; from 2. 12 to 2.30 in length by about 

 1.60 broad; generally four in number; of the usual shape. The Short- 

 billed, or Jack Curlew, though not so abundant as the Long-billed or 

 Eskimo Curlews, is generally distributed in North America, breeding in 

 the far north. It is a spring and fall migrant in the United States, win- 

 tering in the Southern States and beyond. American Whimbrel is an- 

 other name for it. 



560. Eskimo Curlew — numenius borealis. The Dough-bird, or 

 Eskimo Curlew, is found in North America at large and breeds within the 

 Arctic circle. It migrates through the United States, where it is rarely 



