THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 461 



species anticipates its predecessor ; though young birds of the Com- 

 mon Curlew may make their appearance here by the middle of 

 July, this only occurs exceptionally, but is the rule with the present 

 species. The old birds pass here on the return journey in August 

 and September. 



The breeding range of this species extends from Iceland, the 

 Faroes, Orkney and Shetland, and the north of Scotland, through 

 upper Scandinavia to Daiiria and Kamtschatka. Its winter 

 quarters extend not only to Cape Colony, but also to Australia and 

 Van Diemens Land. 



262. Slender-billed Curlew [DUNNSCHNABLIGER 

 BRACHVOGEL]. 



NUMENIUS TENUIROSTRIS, Vieillot. 



Numenius tenuirostris. Naumann, viii. 527. 



Slender-billed Curlew. Dresser, viii. 237. 



Courlis a bee grele. Temminck, Mamiel, iv. 394. 



This small southern Curlew has been shot here once, towards the 

 end of the thirties, by a very zealous gunner of those days called 

 Hans Tonnies. I myself have never seen the specimen, which 

 either went first into the possession of Brandt, the Hamburg dealer, 

 or was taken away from here by Baron von Gyllenkrog, a Swedish 

 gentleman, and a very enthusiastic collector, who used to visit the 

 island at that time ; in fact, every rare and beautiful bird which 

 happened to be killed here at that period went into the posses- 

 sion of one or the other of these two collectors. Tonnies used 

 often to talk to me about ' the little Curlew with roundish black 

 spots on the sides, resembling in shape the spots on the sides of 

 the breast of an old Peregrine ' ; nor had the striking slenderness of 

 the bill escaped the notice of our sharp-sighted Heligolander. 



On reading in Dresser's work the statement that this species 

 had once been killed on Sylt, it at once occurred to me that that 

 might probably be the example which Brandt had obtained from 

 this island, and had sold to Baron von Gyllenkrog as having been 

 shot on one of the at that time still Danish islands, well knowing 

 that this consideration would greatly enhance the value of the 

 specimen in the eyes of the gentleman referred to. According to 

 Brandt's own oral information, he had acted in a similar manner in 

 regard to two examples of White's Thrush (Turdus varius) caught 

 here, and also in regard to another species very similar to the 

 latter. In discussing the Glossy Ibis, we have already expressed 



