CURLEW. 151 



brown and grey ; back brown with indistinct paler edges, as are inner secondaries, 

 scapulars and upper wing-coverts ; secondaries toothed on outer edge with white ; 

 primaries toothed on inner edge with white. 



Winter-plumage. As above but more worn. 



First autumn bird. As described. 



Nestling out of down. With broader edges, otherwise as preceding. 



Nestling in down. Upper coloration pale greyish-brown with black blotches 

 linearly arranged on back, down centre and more irregularly on sides ; frontal 

 brown stripe and loral stripe ; pale mesial stripe on centre of crown ; stripes on 

 head darker than other blotches ; under-surface pale fuscous -grey. 



Nest. A depression. 



Eggs. Clutch, four ; olive-green, blotched with dark brown, more boldly at 

 the larger end ; axis 58, diameter 40 mm. 



Breeds in Eastern Siberia as far west as Lena and Baikal. In the north it 

 breeds in large numbers on Kolyma as far as 69 N., on the borders of the tundras. 



Distribution and forms. Northern Europe and Asia, migrating southward to 

 Africa, India and Australia in winter. Two subspecies are commonly accepted : 

 P. p. phceopus (Linne), the European race, and P. p. variegatus (Scopoli) the Eastern 

 Asiatic race, visiting Australia, slightly smaller with the rump more barred, and the 

 axillaries with narrower and closer bars ; in summer breeding-plumage paler, and 

 with under-surface more heavily streaked with paler brown. 



As above described, breeding birds have black bills and have lost the bold 

 spotting of the immature form, which has been generally described as breeding. 



Genus NUMENIUS. 



Numenius Brisson, Vol. I., p. 48, Vol. V., p. 311, 1760. Type (by tautonymy) : Numenius = 

 Scolopax arquata Linne. 



Cracticornis Gray, List Genera Birds, 2nd ed., p. 88, Sept. 1841. Type (by original designa- 

 tion) : Scolopax arquata Linne. 



Largest Scolopacine Waders with very long arched bills, long wings, moderately 

 long legs, strong feet, and medium tails. 



The very long bill is strongly arched, with the tip of the upper mandible curved 

 down and projecting beyond the lower, obtuse and little thickened. The nostrils 

 are linear, near the base of the bill, placed in a groove which extends more than half 

 the length of the bill. The culmen is longer than the tail and more than half the 

 length of the wing. Wings long with the first primary longest. Tail rounded and 

 moderately long but less than half the length of the wing. 



Tarsus long and partly scutellated in front, but regularly covered with the 

 hexagonal scales on the hinder part. In the nestling the frontal scutellation is quite 

 regular, but in many adults the scutellse appear broken up towards the heel. The 

 toes are strong, about half the length of the metatarsus ; the anterior ones are 

 connected by a web near the base only, the skin of the soles laterally dilated ; claws 

 flattened and blunt ; hind -toe rather long, provided with a claw. 



105. Numenius cyanopus. CURLEW. 



Gould, Vol. VI., pi. 42 (pt. xxxiv.), Dec. 1st, 1848. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 2, pi. 144, May 

 2nd, 1913. 



Numenius cyanopus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., Vol. VIII., p. 306, March 15th, 1817 : 

 Nouvelle Hollande = New South Wales, based on Latham's N* arquatus var., described 

 from Watling drawing No. 239. 



Numenius australasianus Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. iv., App., p. 6, April 1st, 1838 : 

 New South Wales. 



Numenius australis Gould, Proc Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1837, p. 155, Dec. 5th, 1838 : New South 

 Wales. 



