334 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
black ; legs and feet pale blue. Length about 18 in. The — 
adult female resembles the adult male, but the colours are — 
duller. The young have the black parts of the plumage 
washed with brown and margined with rusty. 
CURLEW 
Numenius arquatus (Linneus) 
The Curlew is a resident in the British Isles, changing 
quarters locally according to climatic conditions. In the 
winter it is essentially a shore-bird, moving about in large 
flocks, which may be found in the fields and pasture-lands near 
the coast; these flocks journey to the shore twice daily to feed 
on the mud or rocks left bare by the ebbing tide. In April it 
leaves the coast to nest on the heath-covered moors, and 
though it breeds in large numbers in Scotland it is well dis- — 
tributed in the north and west of England and Ireland. It is 
found in summer in Northern Europe and occurs during ~ 
winter in Africa. 
It is extremely wary, rising on wing at the least alarm ~ 
and calling out its loud ‘‘cour lie,” which may be heard a 
considerable way off. Its food consists of worms, slugs, 
snails, and other insects, and when on the shore, small fish 
and crustacea are devoured. 
The general colour is a pale brown with dark streaks ; rump, 
vent, and upper tail-coverts white. In winter the under parts 
are very pale in colour, almost white. The female is larger 
than the male, and the young are very similar to adults but show 
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more rufous, and the markings beneath are more profuse. 
Length about 20 in. ; bill 4°7-6°75 in. ; wing 11°5-12°25 in. 
WHIMBREL 
Numenius pheopus (Linneus) 
This species is a summer visitor to the British Isles, breed- 
ing sparingly in North Scotland. It usually passes us going 
