SCOLOPACID^.] 



COMMON CURLEW. 



NUMENIUS ARQUATA (Link^us). 



In collection of 

 H. Massey, Esq. 



Explanation of Plates. 



Figure 1. North Wales, May 25, 1878. 



2. Loch Broom, Perthshire, May 23, 1891. 



3. Scotland, May 20, 1889. 



4. Carlisle, May 24, 1891. 



5. Cumberland, May 25, 1886. 



6. Kendal, May 11, 1891. 



7. Middle Hill, Strath Tay, Perthshire, May 16, 1891. 



8. Loch Awe, May 18, 1883. 



This species is a common resident, breeding in many moorland districts in 

 England and more freely in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. 



The late Dr. Saxby writes as follows, respecting the breeding habits of the 

 Curlew as observed by him in Shetland * : — " About the middle or end of April 

 the flocks break up and pair, retiring immediately to the moors, where for some 

 days they may be seen flying very high, uttering their far-resounding cries, and, 

 like certain other bijieds who at such times indulge in flights of fancy, seeming 

 to care very little for food. Laying generally begins about the middle of May ; 

 but I have taken eggs as early as the 2nd of that month, and as late as the end 

 of June. Dimng the period of incubation the male is constantly on the 

 alert, usually taking his stand upon some commanding eminence, from whence, 

 concealed by the grass or heather, he can observe the approach of an enemy 

 long before he himself can be seen ; then vriih loud cries he springs up ; he is 

 joined by others — for more than one pair is commonly found upon the moor — 

 and the noisy birds soar screaming overhead in every direction. Sometimes the 

 female takes alarm with the rest, but this, so far as I have observed, is when she 

 has been sitting for a few days only ; and hence it is that when she is found upon 

 the eggs they are nearly always in a somewhat advanced stage of incubation. 



' Birds of Shetland,' pp. 190-192. 



2c 



