262 



grass, roots, and moss, with a lining of hair, wool, 

 and feathers, is placed in a hole, under a stone, in 

 a wall, &c. The eggs, five or six in number, are 

 of a pale greenish blue. Two broods are reared 

 in the year. On the South Downs, where they 

 collect in great numbers in autumn, these birds, 

 which are esteemed delicious fare, are caught with 

 nooses placed between two turfs. 



WHIMBREL. 



NUMENIUS PiKEOPUs, Penn. 



This species is common on some parts of our 

 coast during its passage northward, chiefly fre- 

 quenting sandy pastures. It appears again on the 

 coast in autumn, and many remain along the shores 

 in England all the winter. It has also been found 

 breeding in Shetland. Its habits are very similar 

 to those of the Curlew, but its cry is less loud and 

 modulated. Its eggs, of which there are four, are 

 coloured like those of the Curlew. Neither this 

 species, nor the Curlew, although very extensively 

 distributed, occur in America, where, however, 

 there is a bird so similar to the Whimbrel as to 

 have generally been confounded with it. 



