514 SCOLOPACID.E. 



dering on the Caucasus. M. Temminck says the European 

 Curlew is found at Pondicherry, Japan, and the Islands of 

 the Indian Archipelago, where another Curlew is also found 

 that is still larger than our bird, and has a longer and more 

 slender bill. Mr. Gould mentions having received skins of 

 our Curlew from China and Nepaul. 



The plumage of the male and female is very similar. The 

 beak is dark brown, except the basal portion of the under 

 mandible, which is pale brown ; the irides dark brown ; head 

 and neck pale brown, the centre of each feather bearing a 

 longitudinal streak of dark brown ; the feathers on the upper 

 part of the back brownish black, with pale brown edges ; the 

 lower part of the back and the rump white ; upper tail co- 

 verts white, with a lanceolate streak of dark brown towards 

 the end ; tail feathers barred with dark brown and dull 

 white ; the smaller wing coverts blackish brown with almost 

 white edges, making this part of the wings appear lighter in 

 colour than the back ; the greater wing coverts and the first 

 five primary quill feathers black, the latter with white shafts ; 

 the secondary wing feathers and the tertials blackish brown in 

 the centre, and barred transversely on the edges Avith dark 

 and light brown ; the chin Avhite ; front of the neck and 

 upper part of the breast pale brown, streaked longitudinally 

 with dark brown ; lower part of the breast nearly white, and 

 spotted rather than streaked with dark brown ; vent and 

 under tail coverts white, the latter with an occasional dusky 

 streak ; legs and toes pale blue, becoming lead blue a few 

 days after death. 



Among the species of the family last described it will be 

 recollected that the male birds were the largest, but in the 

 family of the Scolopacida, which includes the Curlews, the 

 Godwits, Snipes, Sandpipers and others, the females are the 

 largest, but the great difference in size has not in some cases 

 been suspected to be merely sexual. It is however remark- 



