CURLEW. 151 
brown and grey ; back brown with indistinct paler edges, as are inner secondaries, 
scapulars and upper wing-coverts ; secondaries toothed on outer edge with white ; 
primaries toothed on inner edge with white. 
Winter-plumage—As above but more worn. 
First autumn bird.—As described. 
Nestling out of down.—With broader edges, otherwise as preceding. 
Nestling in down.—Upper coloration pale greyish-brown with black blotches 
linearly arranged on back, down centre and more irregularly on sides ; frontal 
brown stripe and loral stripe ; pale mesial stripe on centre of crown ; stripes on 
head darker than other blotches ; under-surface pale fuscous-grey. 
Nest.—A depression. 
Eggs.—Clutch, four ; olive-green, blotched with dark brown, more boldly at 
the larger end ; axis 58, diameter 40 mm. 
Breeds in Eastern Siberia as far west as Lena and Baikal. In the north it 
breeds in large numbers on Kolyma as far as 69° N., on the borders of the tundras. 
Distribution and forms—Northern Europe and Asia, migrating southward to 
Africa, India and Australia in winter. Two subspecies are commonly accepted : 
P. p. pheopus (Linné), the European race, and P. p. variegatus (Scopoli) the Eastern 
Asiatic race, visiting Australia, slightly smaller with the rump more barred, and the 
axillaries with narrower and closer bars ; in summer breeding-plumage paler, and 
with under-surface more heavily streaked with paler brown. 
As above described, breeding birds have black bills and have lost the bold 
spotting of the immature form, which has been generally described as breeding. 
Genus NUMENIUS. 
Numenius Brisson, Vol. I., p. 48, Vol. V., p. 311, 1760. Type (by tautonymy) : Numenius = 
Scolopax arquata Linné. 
Cracticornis Gray, List Genera Birds, 2nd ed., p. 88, Sept. 1841. Type (by original designa- 
tion): Scolopax arquata Linné. 
Largest Scolopacine Waders with very long arched bills, long wings, moderately 
long legs, strong feet, and medium tails. 
The very long bill is strongly arched, with the tip of the upper mandible curved 
down and projecting beyond the lower, obtuse and little thickened. The nostrils 
are linear, near the base of the bill, placed in a groove which extends more than half 
the length of the bill. The culmen is longer than the tail and more than half the 
length of the wing. Wings long with the first primary longest. Tail rounded and 
moderately long but less than half the length of the wing. 
Tarsus long and partly scutellated in front, but regularly covered with the 
hexagonal scales on the hinder part. In the nestling the frontal scutellation is quite 
regular, but in many adults the scutellee appear broken up towards the heel. The 
toes are strong, about half the length of the metatarsus ; the anterior ones are 
connected by a web near the base only, the skin of the soles laterally dilated ; claws 
flattened and blunt ; hind-toe rather long, provided with a claw. 
105. Numenius cyanopus.—CURLEW. 
Gould, Vol. VI., pl. 42 (pt. xxxtv.), Dec. Ist, 1848. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 2, pl. 144, May 
2nd, 1913. 
Numenius cyanopus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., Vol. VIII., p. 306, March 15th, 1817: 
Nouvelle Hollande = New South Wales, based on Latham’s N. arquatus var., described 
from Watling drawing No. 239. 
Numenius australasianus Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. Iv., App., p. 6, April Ist, 1838 : 
New South Wales. 
Numenius australis Gould, Proc Zool. Soe. (Lond.), 1837, p. 155, Dee. 5th, 1833: New South 
Wales. 
