94 BRITISH BIRDS. 



NUMENIUS ARQUATUS. 



COMMON CURLEW. 



(PLATE 33.) 

 Numenius numenius, 



I 

 sis, ) 



^ 



Numenius madagascanensis, 

 Scolopax arquata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 242 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 



(Temminck) , (Schlegel), (Naumann), (Dresser), (Saunders), &c. 

 Scolopax madagascariensis (riss.), Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 242 (1766). 

 Numenius arquata (Linn.), Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 29] (1787). 

 Numenius major, Steph. Shaitis Gen. Zool. xii. pt. i. p. 26 (1824). 

 Numenius virgatus, Cuv. Rty. An. i. p. 521 (1829). 



Although the Curlew is found on almost all parts of the coasts of the 

 British Islands in autumn and winter, its breeding-grounds are principally 

 confined to the moors and uplands of the north of England, Scotland, and 

 Ireland. It breeds sparingly in the wild districts of Cornwall and Devon- 

 shire, is common on the mountains of Wales, but is never known to nest 

 in the low-lying counties of the east and south of England. Its breeding- 

 range is therefore very similar to that of the Red Grouse and the Ring- 

 Ouzel. It is found on most of the outlying islands, as far north as the 

 Orkneys and Shetlands, as far west as the Outer Hebrides, and in winter 

 as far south as the Channel Islands. 



The Curlew breeds much further south than the Whimbrel. It occa- 

 sionally occurs on the Faroes, and is a summer visitor to the whole of 

 Scandinavia. In the valley of the Obb it is not found further north than 

 the Arctic circle ; and in the east it avoids still more carefully the possibility 

 of cold, in Central Siberia only ranging as far north as Dauria, and in 

 Eastern Siberia confining itself to the southern tributaries of the Amoor. 

 Its breeding-range extends throughout Northern and Central Europe, 

 including South Russia. In the basin of the Mediterranean it is prin- 

 cipally known as passing through on migration; but a few, probably 

 immature birds, remain throughout the summer, though the statement of 

 Loche that they breed in Algeria cannot be accepted without verification. 

 It occasionally strays as far as the Azores. It passes through Asia Minor, 

 Persia, and Turkestan on migration, and winters throughout Africa, India, 

 the Burma peninsula and the islands of the Malay archipelago. A few 

 remain to winter on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Spanish 

 peninsula. 



Asiatic examples of the Curlew are slightly paler, and have, as a rule, 

 whiter rumps and axillaries than European birds. If the eastern form be 



