734 KEPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



"The Curlews associate in flocks of every size, from three to as 

 many thousand,, but they generally fly in so loose and straggling a 

 manner, that it is rare to kill more than a half a dozen at a shot. 

 When they wheel, however, in any of their many beautiful evolutions, 

 they close together in a more compact body, and offer a more favorable 

 opportunity to the gunner. 



"Their flight is firm, direct, very swift, when necessary, much pro- 

 tracted, and is performed with regular, rapid beats. They never sail 

 except when about to alight, when their wings are much incurved 

 downward, in the manner of most waders. As their feet touch the 

 ground, their long, pointed wings are raised over the back, until the 

 tips almost touch, and then are deliberately folded, much in the manner 

 of the Solitary Sandpiper. ( RhyacopJiilus solitarius). Their note is 

 an often repeated soft, mellow, though clear, whistle, which may be 

 easily imitated. By this means they can readily be decoyed within 

 shot, if the imitation is good and the gunner is careful to keep con- 

 cealed. The smaller the flock the more easily are they allured, and a 

 single individual rarely fails to turn his course toward the spot whence 

 the sound proceeds. When in very extensive flocks, they have a note 

 which, when uttered by the whole number, I can compare to nothing 

 but the chattering of a flock of Blackbirds. When wounded and taken 

 in hand, they emit a very loud, harsh scream, like that of a common 

 hen, under similar circumstances, which cry they also utter when pur- 

 sued." 



"Their food consists almost entirely of the crowbeiry (Empetrum 

 nigrum), which grows on all the hillsides in astonishing profusion. 

 It is also called the 'bear berry' and 'curlew berry.' It is a small berry, 

 of a deep purple color, almost black, growing upon a procumbent, 

 running kind of heath, the foilage of which has a peculiar moss-like 

 appearance. This is the principal and favorite food, and the whole in- 

 testine, the vent, the legs, the bill, throat, and even the plumage, are 

 more or less stained with the deep purple juice. They are also very 

 fond of a small species of snail that adheres to the rock in immense 

 quantities, to procure which they frequent the land-wastes at low tide. 

 Food being so abundant and so easily obtained, they become exces- 

 sively fat. In this condition they are most delicious eating, being ten- 

 der, juicy and finely flavored; but as might be expected, they prove 

 a very difficult job for the taxidermist. This species breeds in great 

 numbers in the Anderson Eiver region, usually making up its nest 

 complement by the third week in June." (Coues, Birds N. W., pp. 

 511, 512). 



