NUMENIUS ARQUATA 339 



NUMENIUS ARQUATA (Linnaeus). 

 COMMON CUELEW. 



Scolopax arquata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 242 (1766). 



Numenius arquata, Bodd. Tabl. PI. Enl. p. 50 (1783) ; Loche, Expl. Sci. 



Alg. Ois. ii, p. 331 (1867). 

 Numenius arquatus, Malherhe, Cat. Rais. d'Ois. Alg. p. 21 (1846); 



Koenig, J. /. 0. 1888, p. 276 ; Shaiye, Cat. Birds Brit. AIus. xxiv, 



p. 341 ; Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1900, p. 69. 

 Numenius arcuatus, Koenig, J. f. 0. 1893, p. 88. 



Description. — Adult male, winter, from North Tunisia. 



Upper-parts pale greyish-brown, tinged with buff, and thickly striped with 

 blackish-brown ; quills blackish-brown, rump white ; upper tail-coverts white, 

 spotted and barred with blackish-brown ; median rectrices pale grey-brown, 

 barred with dark brown, the remaining tail-feathers white, barred with 

 blackish-brown ; lores, superciliaries and chin white ; throat, fore-neck, 

 breast and sides of body buffy-white, striped with brown ; abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts pure white ; axillaries mottled and barred with brown. 



Iris brown; bill dark brown, and dull flesh-colour at the base; feet 

 dark grey. 



Total length 25-50 inches, wing 1270, culmen 6-75, tarsus 3-25. 



Adult female similar to the male in plumage, but larger. 



The Curlew is common in Tunisia, and, according to Blanc, to 

 be found there throughout the entire year. There seems, however, 

 to be no recorded instance of the species having bred in the Begency, 

 and the examples met with in summer are possibly either early or 

 late migrants, or, what is still more probable, young birds of the 

 preceding year, which would not breed during their first season. Dr. 

 Koenig seems to have met with the Curlew in Tunisia late in May, 

 and is of this latter opinion. 



According to Count Arrigoni (Man. Orn. Ital. p. 574) flocks of 

 Curlews may be found during the sunmier months in the Venetian 

 Estuary, but do not breed. The same appears also to be the case 

 in South Spain, according to Colonel Irby (Orn. Strs. Gib. p. 178). 



Loche states that a few pairs breed in Algeria, and the same 

 is said to be the case in Marocco, but no well authenticated instance 

 of the species breeding in North-west Africa is on record. 



The Curlew has a wide range, being met with throughout Europe 

 generally, nearly as far north as the Arctic Circle, throughout a 

 considerable part of Asia, and in Africa as far south as Cape Colony. 



