137 



ESQUIMAUX CURLEW. 



Numenius borealis, ^UTTALL. AUDUBON. 



Scolopax borealis, WILSON. 



Numenius. Numenia The new moon, from the curved shape of the 

 bill. Borealis Of or belonging to the north. 



THIS species of Curlew is a native of the northern parts 

 of North America. 



Its first occurrence as an 'addendum' to our British list 

 was on the 6th. of September, 1855, when a specimen was 

 shot hy W. E. Cusack Smith, Esq., in the parish of Durris, 

 in the county of Kincardine, Scotland, on the top of one of 

 the mountains of the Grampian range. 



These birds appear to migrate southwards by the beginning 

 of August, returning to the north in the spring. 



If pursued they are said to crouch close to the ground, even 

 the head and neck being laid down. They congregate in dense 

 flocks. 



They fly in an easy manner, and run swiftly. 



They feed on water insects and their Iarva3, as also on the 

 fruit of the cranberry. 



The note, uttered on the wing, is a soft whistle, often 

 repeated. 



The eggs are three or four in number, and of a green 

 colour, with a few large irregular-shaped spots of bright brown. 



Male; length, about fourteen inches; bill, brownish black, 

 the base of the lower mandible pale yellowish red; iris, dark 

 brown, over the eye is a nearly white streak. Head and crown, 

 brownish black, the feathers edged with reddish brown, on the 

 sides yellowish brown with brown streaks; neck, light yellowish 

 brown; the feathers edged with dull white, the fore part light 

 brown with small longitudinal reddish brown marks. Throat, 



