334 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



black; legs and feet pale blue. Length about i8 in. The 

 adult female resembles the adult male, but the colours are 

 duller. The young have the black parts of the plumage 

 washed with brown and margined with rusty. 



CURLEW 



Numenius arquatus i^LinncBus) 



The Curlew is a resident in the British Isles, changing 

 quarters locally according to climatic conditions. In the 

 winter it is essentially a shore-bird, moving about in large 

 flocks, which may be found in the fields and pasture-lands near 

 the coast ; these flocks journey to the shore twice daily to feed 

 on the mud or rocks left bare by the ebbing tide. In April it 

 leaves the coast to nest on the heath-covered moors, and 

 though it breeds in large numbers in Scotland it is well dis- 

 tributed in the north and west of England and Ireland. It is 

 found in summer in Northern Europe and occurs during 

 winter in Africa. 



It is extremely wary, rising on wing at the least alarm 

 and calling out its loud "cour lie," which may be heard a 

 considerable way off. Its food consists of worms, slugs, 

 snails, and other insects, and when on the shore, small fish 

 and Crustacea are devoured. 



The general colour is a pale brown with dark streaks ; rump, 

 vent, and upper tail-coverts white. In winter the under parts 

 are very pale in colour, almost white. The female is larger 

 than the male, and the young are very similar to adults but show 

 more rufous, and the markings beneath are more profuse. 

 Length about 20 in. ; bill 4*7-6*75 in. ; wing 11 •5-12-25 in. 



WHIMBREL 



Numenius phtBopus (Linnceus) 

 This species is a summer visitor to the British Isles, breed- 

 ing sparingly in North Scotland. It usually passes us going 



