218 Order XIII. Limicolce 



When breeding the parent birds circle anxiously 

 round an intruder, and come very near him after the 

 young are hatched, but from autumn onwards they 

 are the most wary of shore-birds and practically act 

 as sentinels of the beach. It is uncertain how many 

 reach us from abroad, but non-breeding birds may be 

 found by the sea at any time of year. The name, as 

 pronounced in the north, " curr-loo," is no doubt 

 derived from the note, while the weird cry and curious 

 appearance of the bird caused it of old to be regarded 

 with superstition by the Scots, who averred that it was 

 a wizard, and could only be killed with a silver slug. 



The Whimbrel (N. phceopus), which resembles a 

 small Curlew, but has a dark brown head with a wide 

 pale central stripe, is a somewhat more Arctic species 

 than its congener, being found in summer in the Orkneys, 

 Shetlands, Faeroes, Iceland, the fells of Scandinavia, 

 and over the districts north of forest-growth both in 

 Europe and western Asia, the eastern Asiatic form 

 differing in its more streaky rump. Many migrants 

 arrive on our coasts about May, and a few stragglers 

 may remain, but towards the end of summer all return 

 from their northern haunts ; they are easily recognised 

 by their constantly repeated shrill whistling notes, 

 dimly recalling those of the Curlew. The food of the 

 two species is alike, but the flight of the Whimbrel is 

 less prolonged, while it has a curious habit of executing 

 spiral movements near the nest. On the whole the 

 eggs are brighter green or olive and their markings 

 more distinct; the parent birds, moreover, are de- 

 cidedly less shy. 



