THE COMMON WHIMBREL 



gunners as a " Curlew Jack " or " Jack Curlew," presum- 

 ably by the same line of reasoning that a small pike is 

 called a " jack." Next to size the most important dis- 

 tinctions between the two species are that the crown is 

 uniform dark brown, crossed by a pale mesial line and 

 bordered by a well-marked stripe over each eye ; the 

 tail is also uniform brown barred with dark brown. The 

 colours of the soft parts are similar. Length 15 inches. 

 The young in first plumage are more densely mottled and 

 spotted than the adult. The young in down are very 

 similar to those of the Curlew. 



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