CURLEW 



COMMON CURLEW WHAAP WHITTERICK. 

 PLATE CLXIV. FIGURE II. 



Numenius arquata, LINNAEUS. 



Numenius major, ...... STEPHENS. 



Scolopax arquata, ..... MONTAGU. 



THE nest of this bird, if made in some slight hollow, 

 consists only of a little dry grass or leaves, or is 

 placed in the middle of a tuft of the former, among 

 heather or rushes. 



The eggs, laid in April and May, are four in number, 

 and they differ much both in their ground colour and in 

 the spots. They are of a pale dull green, blotted all over 

 with two shades of brown, and are very large for the size 

 of the bird. They are placed "quatrefoil" in the nest, the 

 narrow ends inwards. The young run about almost as soon 

 as hatched, but are not able to fly for a considerable time. 

 Until then they are assiduously attended to by their parents. 

 If approached, they hide themselves among the inequalities 

 of the ground, and lie very close, the old birds endeavouring 

 the while to attract the intruder away. 



