246 The Hudsonian Curlew 



There is so much variation in the length of the bill, at various ages, that 

 young birds with short bills are often mistaken for the Eskimo Curlew, 

 and old birds with extra long bills are often called Long-billed Curlews, 

 or Sickle-bills. 



There are certain characters, however, by which this species may be 

 recognized at any age. The Long-billed Curlew is much larger, the 

 crown of its head is uniformly streaked, without any median stripe, and 

 its axillars have no distinct bars ; whereas the Hudsonian has a dusky crown 

 with a light median stripe, and its axillars are distinctly barred with 

 dusky. The Eskimo Curlew may readily be dis- 

 tinguished by its uniformly dusky primaries ; where- 

 reatures . . TT , i i j-i-^ure 



as in the Hudsonian the primaries have distinct buff 



spots, or partial bars, on the inner webs. 



The Hudsonian Curlew is widely distributed over nearly all of North 

 America and part of South America. Its breeding-range has not been 

 fully worked cut, but it is known 'to breed on the Barren Grounds of 

 northern Mackenzie, and on the coast of Alaska from the mouth of the 

 Yukon to Kotzebue Sound. Its principal winter range is on the western 

 coast of South America from Ecuador to southern Chile, where it is very 

 abundant ; it also winters from Lower California to the coast of southern 

 Honduras ; and on the eastern coast its winter range extends from 

 British Guiana to the mouth of the Amazon River. 



The spring migration on the Atlantic coast reaches Florida during 

 the latter half of March, the Carolinas about the middle of April, and 

 Massachusetts about the middle of May. The dates vary greatly in 

 different seasons, the northward movement being very gradual and the 

 migration-period often much prolonged. On the Pacific coast, the main 

 flight appears in southern California about the middle of March, pro- 

 gresses slowly northward, reaches Alaska about the middle of May, and 

 arrives on the breeding-grounds in northern Mackenzie by the end of 

 May. 



Like most of the northern-breeding shore-birds, the Hudsonian Cur- 

 lew moves off its breeding-grounds as soon as the 

 Migration young are able to shift for themselves, and begins its 



summer wanderings, or starts on its southward migra- 

 tion, early in July. There are two main lines of flight, down the east 

 and west coasts of the continent, as well as a more scattering flight 

 through the central valleys and plains. 



The eastward flight is from the west coast of Hudson Bay, where 

 many birds linger through August, to the coasts of New England and 

 southward. A few Hudsonian Curlews migrate as far east as Labrador ; 

 the species has never been common there, but since the disappearance of 

 the Eskimo Curlew it seems to have increased. On the New England 

 coast the heavy flights often occur in September, and young birds often 

 linger until well into October. 



The southward movement in the fall is very deliberate, and the last 

 of the birds do not pass through the West Indies to South America until 



