THE CURLEW 



the lower ground in autumn, and continuing thereon 

 for the remainder of the time. It is most regular in its 

 movements, passing from the saltings as the tide drives it 

 away to higher ground inland, but returning almost to 

 the minute as the ebbing water exposes its feeding-places. 

 It runs and walks about in the usual manner of its kind, 

 flies well and powerfully, and is noisy enough, especially 

 when fired at or otherwise seriously alarmed. Its note is 

 a rich, musical cur lee^ ofttimes repeated, and during the 

 breeding season it utters a bubbling cry resembling 

 wiw-i-wiw-i-wiW) very quickly repeated. It is more or 

 less gregarious during the non-breeding season, and in 

 summer several pairs will nest on a comparatively small 

 area of suitable ground. The food of the Curlew consists 

 of worms, insects, and larvae, small ground fruits and 

 berries, sand-worms, molluscs and crustaceans. The 

 return from the coast begins in March, and the eggs are 

 laid in April and May. The nest is made upon the 

 ground, either on the moors, rough lands, or upland 

 fallows, and is little more than a hollow, scantily lined 

 with a few bits of dry herbage, and in some cases the bare 

 ground alone is used. The four eggs are pyriform in 

 shape, olive-green or buff in ground colour, blotched and 

 spotted with olive-brown and grey, and sometimes 

 streaked with darker brown. But one brood is reared 

 in the season. 



The adult male Curlew has the general colour of the 

 upper parts pale brown striped and mottled with dark 

 brown ; the rump is white ; the shortest upper tail- 

 coverts are white streaked with dark brown, the longest 

 are very pale buffish brown barred with dark brown ; 

 the quills are dark brown barred with white ; the wing 

 coverts greyish white, with dark brown centres ; the four 

 central tail-feathers are pale brown, barred with dark 

 brown, the four outer ones on either side white barred 

 with dark brown ; the under parts are white, suffused 



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