vA, WATER BIRDS 
Breeding Range: North of latitude 35° to latitude 50°. In California 
breeds in northwestern portion of the State, in the Pitt River valley. 
Breeding Season : May and June. 
Nest: A shallow depression in the ground; lined with dry grasses ; 
placed near water. 
Eggs: 3 or 4; buffy, spotted with purple and umber. Size 2.52 X 1.85. 
Tue Sickle-billed Curlew is a conspicuous bird wher- 
ever it occurs on the beaches. In California it is common 
on the coast and valleys west of the Sierra Nevada dur- 
ing the winter months, appearing early in October and 
remaining until the last of April or the middle of May. 
These Curlews fly in wedge-shaped flocks of from fifty 
to a hundred, the movement of migration being con- 
tinuous when started, and mostly by daylight; they 
rest and feed late in the afternoon. <A flock of them 
alighting is suggestive of a multitude of gigantic butter- 
flies, as they touch the earth with feet down and wings 
raised over their backs. 
Their long bills are used to probe in the earth for 
their food, which consists of worms, small snails, crabs, 
crayfish, the larvee of beetles, and adult insects of all 
kinds. Their note is a prolonged whistle as heard from 
high in the air, or a clear rich call as you flush them 
from the ground. If disturbed in their breeding ground, 
they unite, as do the jays, to drive the intruder away 
with harsh cries and a succession of shrill notes that one 
observer calls laughter. Failing in this, they circle about 
as near as they dare, and occasionally one, more daring 
than the rest, comes too near for comfort. The mother, 
finding defence useless, tries the old feint of a broken 
wing, while the others watch her with anxious cries. 
