122 WADING BIRDS. 



cult to approach; yet the same bird, shot at three or four 

 different times, and recovering when about to be picked up, 

 still, notwithstanding this persecution, continued to feed again 

 in the same spot. These birds, though so exquisite in flavor, 

 in the autumn, when as abundant as usual, are sold in Boston 

 market for about twenty to twenty-five cents each. As early 

 as the 1 8th of July I have met with individuals of this species, 

 one of which on dissection proved to be an old and barren 

 male who in all probability had remained behind the flock in 

 the same vicinity where he had arrived in the spring, having 

 no incentive to migration. Whether other specimens, killed 

 at this season before the return of the general flock, are influ- 

 enced by the same cause to linger behind or wander from the 

 rest, I am unable to say. 



The Jack Curlew is well known to gunners along the Atlantic 

 coast, where it occurs during both migrations. The flocks do not 

 cross the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but follow the southern shore till 

 well inland, when they fly north to Hudson Bay and the Barren 

 Lands, near the Arctic Ocean, where they breed. 



A few stragglers from the main flocks have been taken in Lab- 

 rador and Greenland, and a few wander inland through Ohio and 

 the Eastern States. 



ESKIMO CURLEW. 



SHORT-BILLED CURLEW. DOUGH-BIRD. 



NUMENIUS BOREALIS. 



Char. Upper parts blackish brown, spotted with buff; crown streaked, 

 but without distinct median line ; under parts light buff ; neck, breast, and 

 sides streaked or spotted with dusky. Length about 14 inches. 



Much like /it^dsoniats, hut easily distinguished, horealis being of smaller 

 size, with a shorter bill, and lacking the light-colored streak across the 

 crown. 



Nest. Amid the rocks of dry ridges, adjacent to lakes and ponds; a 

 slight depression, lined with grass and leaves. 



Es^gs. 3-4; olive, with a tinge of green or brown predominating, 

 marked with several shades of brown ; 2.05 X 1.45. 



The Small Curlew in the course of its vast migrations occa- 

 sionally visits almost every part of the American continent. 



