354 WiCKERSHAM, The Sickle-billed Curletv. [^^|^ 



find him living on open prairie land, often far from water, nesting 

 on the uplands, stalking along over the dry prairie, sometimes 

 bobbing up and down like a sandpiper, at others sinking his long 

 bill, with its tender ends into the ground, first on this side and 

 then on the other, as he draws worm after worm out of its home 

 to sustain life in his graceful body. As evening falls he becomes 

 restless, his hunting comes to an end, his bobbing becomes more 

 jerky and more and more repeated, until with a loud whistle he 

 jumps forward, his long wings fly out and up and with the first 

 unsteadiness over he joins the bunch in a long line and betakes 

 his way with the others towards some distant marsh or pond. 

 On, on they go ; the leader whistles, the others answer, suddenly 

 they all drop, sweep forward and up a little and then, with wings 

 almost meeting above them and legs held daintily down to break 

 the shock, they all alight. For five minutes there is no movement, 

 no sound ; there are no birds to be seen where, a moment before, 

 the graceful creatures had alighted ; suddenly there is a little 

 flutter of wings and before you know it numerous forms have run 

 forward and bent over the water to noisily quench their thirst. 

 For another five minutes there is as great a confusion and clamor 

 as formerly there was order and quiet ; wings are fluttering, 

 hoarse, short cries are arising, feet are pattering up and down, the 

 water is heavily rippling from the motion of many bills and, in 

 a word, all is chaos. One by one the drinkers cease, calmness is 

 gradually restored, and, after pluming themselves, the birds draw 

 one leg up under them, tuck their head under one wing, neatly 

 fold the other, and sweet slumber reigns. 



In the interior they begin to go north in May or the latter part 

 of April and household cares take up the month of June from 

 Arizona and Kansas north to Manitoba. July is spent in raising 

 the chicks and by the middle or latter part of August, all is ready 

 for the flight south to Texas, Mexico, Florida and the West Indies. 

 Then it is that we see them in great flocks of hundreds, bobbing 

 up and down all over the prairie, more nervous than ever ; and 

 then it is that they are least wary at times and at other times so 

 very wary that it is impossible to approach them. They are so 

 nervous and upset that they do not seem to know their own mind 

 and it is at that season of the year that their antics become almost 



