178 SCOLOPACID^. 
tliirty in number^ but the liglit was so dim he could not see 
Avhere they went to. 
248. NuMENius ARQUATAj Linn. The Common Curlew. 
MoorisJi. Bou-khelal (Favier). Spanish. Zarapito. 
" This bird is^ near Tangier, only a winter resident, which 
arrives in September and October and leaves during March. 
They frequent the mouths of rivers and the sea-shore in large 
numbers, but they are very wild and difficult to get a shot at." 
— Favier. 
When at Larache towards the end of April, I observed 
several Curlews; and a Spaniardwho resides there asserted that 
this bird nests near the town. As Curlews are occasionally 
seen throughout the summer months on the Spanish side of 
the Straits, no doubt they are also seen at Larache ; but these, 
I imagine, are birds that do not breed and consequently do 
not migrate north. 
The Curlew is very plentiful near Gibraltar during the 
winter months, being, perhaps, most frequent in February ; 
but it is very wary, as it is everywhere else in the world that 
I have met with it. In this species the axillary plumes are 
white, occasionally marked with brown. 
249. NuMENius PH^opus, Linn. The Whimbrel. 
Favier^s notes on this species are the same as on the Curlew, 
except that he adds " this bird arrives earlier from the north, 
and though very common, does not remain in the neighbour- 
hood of Tangier for the winter, but passes on further south." 
On the Spanish side of the Straits, the Whimbrel is plen- 
tiful in autumn and spring up to the end of April, and is 
occasionally seen in winter ; it is, as elsewhere, far less wary 
and difficult to approach than the Curlew. 
In this species the axillaries are white, barred with brown, 
and the top of the head is also brown. * 
250. NuMENius HUDsoNicus, Lath. The American 
AVhimbrel. 
A specimen of this Whimbrel Avas obtained by Lord Lilford 
