342 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



Iris brown ; bill dark browu, and flesh-colour at the base of the lower 

 mandible ; feet dark grey. 



Total length 15 inches, wing 9-40, culmen 2-70, tarsus 2-50. 

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



This Curlew is probably the commonest of the three members of 

 the genns found in Tunisia. According to Blanc it is abundant in 

 the Regency in winter and during the periods of migration, but he 

 does not allude to its breeding in the country, nor have I any infor- 

 mation on this point from any other source. 



Canon Tristram appears to have found the species very abundant 

 in Tunisia in winter, and even as late as June, the bird being always 

 in flocks and very wild. Salvin also met with this Curlew on more 

 than one occasion, and obtained a specimen near El Djem in Central 

 Tunisia. On the last occasion I visited Kasrin in Central Tunisia, 

 towards the end of April, I found considerable numbers of a small 

 Curlew, which seemed to me to belong to the present species, fre- 

 quenting some marshy land in the neighbourhood, but the birds were 

 so wild and unapproachable, that I could not get within gunshot of 

 them. 



According to Loche the Slender-billed Curlew is not uncommon 

 in Algeria, and is to be found both north and south of the Atlas. It 

 is also probably to be found in Marocco, as it occurs in South Spain 

 and about the Straits of Gibraltar. 



The range of the species is, however, not an extensive one and 

 is, more or less, confined to the Mediterranean, extending eastward 

 through Southern Eussia as far as the Transcaspian districts. The 

 bird may be met with occasionally in Central Europe, and is recorded 

 as having been captured in Holland and on the island of Sylt off the 

 Danish coast. 



In its habits the present species resembles its allies, though it 

 more often frequents inland localities than either of the two preceding 

 species, and may be more frequently found on the Sebkas and Chotts 

 of the interior than on the sea-coast. As mentioned above, it is very 

 wild and difticult to approach. Its flight resembles that of the Whim- 

 brel, and it is fond of wading in shallow water, in search of its food, 

 which consists chiefly of worms, insects and small crustaceans. 



