Cur 



KWS.j 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



19 



which it is sometimes kept in gardens, and becomes 

 very tame. The lapwing is very beautiful. The 

 head is black glossed with green, and an elegant 

 crest of long slender black feathers, turned slightly 

 upwards, rises from the occiput ; the throat is black ; 

 the upper parts are greenish black with purple and 

 blue reflexions; the chest and under parts are white ; 

 the tail is white at the base, then black, with white 

 at the tip. Length thirteen inches. 



1843. — The Spur-winged Plover 



(Pltivianus spinosus. Gould). Charadius spinosus, 

 Linn.; Philomachus spinosus, Msehr; Hofopterus 

 spinosus, Bonaparte. 



In this genus (whichever name be adopted) the 

 legs arc long, slender, and naked a great distance 

 above the tarsal joint ; there is no hind-toe, and the 

 external and middle are united by means of a basal 

 membrane ; wings very Jong and pointed, and armed 

 with a sharp spur. 



This species is common in Greece, Egypt, and 

 Senegal. It is occasionally seen in Italy ; it occurs 

 in some parts of Russia, and is abundant in the 

 neighbourhood of Aleppo. It is a noisy bird, and, 

 as Latham says, is continually moving the head and 

 neck as if making repeated bows. The top of the 

 head is black, and furnished with a rather short 

 occipital crest, capable of being depressed or raised 

 at will. The upper surface is greyish brown; the 

 greater coverts are white ; the quills black ; the 

 sides of the face and neck, the back of the latter, 

 the flanks, the thighs, the tail-coverts and base of 

 the tail are white ; the part of the neck from the 

 bill, and the chest, under parts, and terminal half of 

 the tail are jet black. Length eleven inches. 



1844. — The Turnstone 



{SUrepsilas Interpres). Tringa Interpres, Linn. ; 

 Monnella collaris, Meyer; Strepsilas collaris. 



We agree with those naturalists who place the 

 genus Strepsilas within the family Charadrise, and 

 not among the Scolopacidae, with their finger-tipped 

 bills. In Strepsilas the beak is of moderate length, 

 strong, compressed, acutely pointed, and slightly 

 turned upwards ; nasal depression elongated • wings 

 acuminate ; hind-toe very small. 



There is not a part of the globe, from Nova Zembla 

 and the shores of the Arctic to the Cape of Good 

 Hope, from the shores of Hudson's Bay to the straits 

 of Magellan, which is not visited by this species — 

 Japan, Sunda. the Moluccas, Xew Guinea, and New 

 Holland, Europe, Asia, Africa, constitute its range. 

 It breeds in the high northern latitudes, in Norway 

 and Siveden, and also, it is said, in the Shetland 

 Isles ; in June and in August it begins its southern 

 progress, returning northwards in spring. Mr. Hew- 

 itson found its nest on the coast of Norway placed 

 against a ledge of rock, and consisting of nothing 

 more than the fallen leaves of the juniper-bush, 

 under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in 

 number, were concealed. Their colour was of an 

 olive-green spotted and streaked with ash-blue, and 

 two shades of reddish brown. In our island the 

 tumstone is found from August to March or April ; 

 it frequents the rocky and gravelly shore, feeding 

 upon small molluscous animals, Crustacea, &c., in 

 quest of which it turns over the stones along the 

 water's edge, by means of its hard bill: it trips 

 quickly along, and flies with great power and ra- 

 pidity. In its progress to maturity the tumstone 

 undergoes several transitions of colour before ac- 

 quiring a permanent livery. When in perfect 

 pluraase the upper parts are of mingled black 

 and rufous; a black gorget on the chest passes 

 up the sides of the neck and round the base ; lower 

 part of the back white, as is also the basal half 

 and extreme tip of the tail, the intermediate 

 part being black ; a semilunar mark of dark fea- 

 thers separates the white of the lower part of the 

 back from the white tail-coverts ; under surface 

 white ; a white spot between the eye and base of the 

 beak is very conspicuous; legs orange-yellow. 

 Length nine inches. 



1845.— The Oyster-Catcher 



(Hcsmafopus ostralegvs). L'Huiterier, Pie de Mer, 

 and Bccasse de Mer of the French ; Beccacio di 

 Mare of the Italians ; Geschackte Austernfischer of 

 the Germans ; Piogen y Mor of the Welsh ; Sea Pie, 

 Pianet, Olive, Sea Woodcock, Chalder, &c., pro- 

 vincial English. 



In the genus Haematopus the bill is long, hard, 

 compressed, especially at the point, which is abrupt 

 and chisel-iike.but not pointed ; nostrils longitudinal ; 

 legs strong ; toes three, all directed forwards, bordered 

 by the rudiment of a membrane ; and the external 

 and middle toes united l)y a partial web at the base. 



The oyster-catcher is distributed over the whole of 

 the European continent and a great part of Asia 

 and Africa, frequenting the sea-shore, and is common 

 on the low flat coasts of our island, where it breeds, 

 laying its egcs on the bare ground amidst the 

 •hingle, or such herbage as grows above high-water 

 Vol. II. 



mark. The eggs, four in number, are pale olive- 

 green blotched with brownish black. During incu- 

 bation the male is always on the watch, and on the 

 approach of an intruder utters a loud shrill whistle, 

 as an alarm-call, upon which the female silently 

 quits her eggs, and runs to a considerable distance 

 before taking wing. Limpets, which it easily de- 

 taches from the rock, mussels, oysters, and other 

 mollusks constitute its food, in quest of which it 

 wades amongst the shallows, or swims, which it does 

 very easily, where the depth forbids wading. In the 

 autumn, after the young have acquired their full 

 growth, these birds assemble in large flocks, which 

 separate into pairs on the recurrence of spring. The 

 parents are bold in the defence of their young, which 

 run about as soon as hatched, under the care of the 

 former. In America the oyster-catcher is represented 

 by an allied species, the H.palliatus, Temminck (H. 

 ostralegus, Wilson). The oyster-catcher is a beautiful 

 bird. The general plumage is glossy velvet black, 

 with the exception of the lower part of the back, the 

 base of the tail, transverse bars on the wings, and 

 the under parts, which are white ; bill and circle 

 round the eyes orange-red ; irides crimson ; legs 

 deep purplish red. In winter there is a collar of 

 white on the throat, and the black is less brilliant. 



1846. — The Collared Pratincole 



(Glareola torquata). In many points the genus 

 Glareola exhibits a great similitude (not affinity) to 

 the swallows : the wings are long and pointed ; the 

 tail is forked ; the power of flight extraordinary ; 

 the bill is short, hard, compressed, and arched above ; 

 hind-toe short. 



The Collared Pratincole is the Perdrix de Mer of 

 Brisson ; das Rothfiissige Sandhuhn of Bechstein ; 

 Siidliche Sandhuhn of Brehm ; and Pernice di Mare 

 of Savi. Though a few instances are on record of 

 this bird having been killed within the British Isles, 

 it can scarcely be admitted within the catalogue of 

 our Faima. It is a native of the eastern provinces 

 of Europe on the Asiatic borders, and especially of 

 Hungary, where extensive tracts of morass, and 

 lakes, both fresh and saline, surrounded by low flat 

 lands traversed by numerous rivers, afford food and 

 security. In Western Tartary it is equally abundant. 

 M. Temminck informs us that it breeds in Sardinia, 

 and is numerous in Dalmatia, on the borders of the 

 Lake Boccagnaro, on its spring passage ; and that in 

 Hungary, among the immense morasses of the lakes 

 Neusidel and Balaton, he has been in the midst of 

 hundreds sweeping through the air in chace of their 

 insect prey, and daiting along with arrow-like 

 rapidity. Nor is it less remai kable for celerity on 

 the ground, and often catches insects as it runs along. 

 This graceful bird incubates amidst reeds, oziers, 

 and the tall herbage of morasses. The eggs are 

 four in number, of a yellowish white. In Germany, 

 France, and Italy it is a bird of periodical occur- 

 rence. Two species, the G. grallaria and the 

 G. lactea, are peculiar to the eastern provinces of 

 Asia and certain parts of Africa. None are 

 American. The general colour of the collared pra- 

 tincole is brownish grey above ; the throat is white 

 with a tinge of reddish, banded by a narrow cres- 

 centic line of black ; the upper tail-coverts are 

 white ; the under surface dirty white ; the tail is 

 forked, and brownish black ; the under wing-coverts 

 are chestnut. Length nine inches and a half. 

 Naked circle round the eye red. 



1847. — -The Black-bellied Svviit-foot 



(Cursoriiis Temminchii). In the genus Cursorius 

 the bill is moderately long, arched, and compressed, 

 with the nostrils basal, oval, and with an oblong 

 lateral opening; wings pointed; legs long; toes 

 three, all anterior — the middle toe the longest, with a 

 serrated claw. The birds of this genus are natives 

 of Africa, inhabiting inland tracts at a great dis- 

 tance from the sea. and .nmning along the ground 

 with extraordinary rapidity. One species, the 

 Cream-coloured Swift-foot (Curs. Isabellinus) has 

 been a few times seen in our island, and once in 

 France, and once in Austria. 



The black-bellied swift-foot is a native of 

 Abyssinia. Its general plumage is creamy brown: 

 the top of the head and the breast ferruginous; a 

 double nucha] collar, the upper white, the lower I 

 black ; sides of body white ; the quills and centre 

 of the under surface black. Length eight inches. 



Family SCOLOPACID^ (CURLEWS, SNIPES, 

 SANDPIPERS). 



The members of this family are all inhabitants of 

 marshy lands, the borders of swamps, lakes, and 

 rivers, and the shores of the sea. Their food con- 

 sists of worms, slugs, aquatic mollusks, &c. ; (or this 

 purpose their bill is at once a probe, a feeler, and 

 an organ of prehension. Most of the genera, ob- 

 serves Mr. Selby, procure food by thrusting the bill 

 into the soft earth or the mud of the shore, whence 

 they extract their prey. To facilitate Ihis operation 

 an extraordinary development of nerve is distributed 



over the bill, but more especially concentrated at 

 the tip, which is thus endowed with an exquisite 

 sense of feeling, and the membiane of that part is 

 often pulpy. In many species the bill is lurther 

 provided with a peculiar muscle which operates so 

 as to expand the pulpy points of the mandibles, 

 enabling the bird, with the bill still buried in the 

 ground, to seize its prey the moment it is felt. From 

 this peculiar mode of searching for their prey, many- 

 species, as the snipe, woodcock, &c., have been 

 called birds of suction. The distribution of the 

 Scolopacidae is very general, their powers of flight 

 are considerable, and they are all more or less 

 migratory in their habits. They incubate on the 

 ground ; the eggs are four in number, of a peculiar 

 form, being small and pointed at one end, large and 

 obtuse at the other, and they are usually placed in 

 the nest in a circle with the acute ends meeting 

 in the centre, so as to occupy as small a space as 

 possible. The flesh of many is in-high estimation. 

 Fig. 1848, a Group of Scolopacidae, representing-.- 

 a, the Curlew ; b, the Godwit ; c, the Purre or Stint. 



1849.— The Curlew 



{Ntmenius arquatus). In the genus Numenius 

 the bill is long, slender, curved, compressed, hard 

 and subobtuse at the point ; the upper mandible 

 exceeding the lower, rounded towards the end, and 

 channelled for three-fourths of its length; nostrils 

 lateral, linear, and pierced in the channel ; legs 

 slender ; hind-toe small, touching the ground ; an- 

 terior toes united by a membrane as high as the 

 first joint ; wings moderate. 



The curlew is the Courlis of the French ; Chiar- 

 lotto and Chiurle maggiore of the Italians ; der 

 Grosse Krumschrablichte Schnepfe and Keilhacke 

 of the Germans ; the Waup, Scotticfi ; Gylfinhr of 

 the Welsh. The curlew is spread over every part 

 of the Old World, from the torrid zone to the polar 

 regions. It is found in India, China, Japan, and 

 South Africa. 



In its habits the curlew is migratory, and during 

 the winter collects in large flocks, which frequent the 

 low oozy shores of the sea, easily perforated by their 

 bills, which they plunge into the mud in .search of 

 Ibod. It wades in the shallows, and, when out of 

 its depth, swims with considerable facility. Few 

 birds are more shy and wary than the curlew, and 

 while on the wing it utters a clear whistle as the 

 flock wheels round in wide circles through the air. 



In the high northern regions are the favourite 

 breeding-haunts of the curlew, whither immense 

 flocks repair early in the spring, but numbers con- 

 tinue in our island, leaving the low shores and south- 

 ern districts for the wild and heathy parts of the 

 interior, the wilds of Northumberland, and the bleak 

 Highlands of Scotland. Thenest consists of withered 

 grass or rushes placed in a depression under the 

 covert of heath or other herbage. The eggs, four 

 in number, are of a pale olive-green, blotched with 

 two tints of brown. The young, which are at first 

 covered with a yellowish white down varied with 

 dark spots and markings, are assiduously attended 

 by their parents, who manifest great courage in their 

 defence, sweeping round the head of the intruder, 

 uttering a loud cry of courlis, courlis, in quick re- 

 petition. In about six weeks the young are able to 

 take wing. Three species of Numenius are natives 

 exclusively of America 



1850. — The Whimbrel 



{Numenius Phceopus'). Le petit Courlis or Courlieu 

 of the French ; Chiurlo piccolo, Chiurlo minore, 

 and Mengotto of the Italians; Regen Brachvogel 

 and Kleiner Goisser of the Germans ; Coeg ylfinhir 

 of the Welsh. 



Though the whimbrel visits our coasts and those of 

 the adjacent continent in winter, in small flocks, it 

 retires to the higher northern latitudes in the spring 

 to breed, Zetland being the only locality within the 

 British Islands where it has been known to incubate. 

 The range of this species is as extensive, or nearly 

 so, as that of the curlew, which species it closely 

 resembles in its habits, manners, and style of colour- 

 ing but is a much smaller bird, measuring only six- 

 teen inches in length, of which the bill is three and 

 a half; while the curlew exceeds two feet with the 

 bill, which often measures six inches. Its flesh, 

 like that of the curlew, is esteemed as well flavoured. 

 An allied species, Numenius tenuirostris, is a native 

 of southern Europe. The colouring both of the 

 curlew and whimbrel is to well known to need a 

 detailed description. 



1851.— The Black-tailed Godwit 



(Limosa melanurd). Beak and Foot. In the genus 

 Limosa the bill is very long, more or less curved 

 upwards, soft and flexible, depressed at the apex, 

 which is dilated and obtuse ; upper mandible fur- 

 rowed ; legs long and slender ; hind-toe small ; outer 

 and inner toes united by a basal web ; wings mode- 

 rate. 

 This species is the Grande Barge rousse of Bulfon ; 



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