BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 95 



and whole plumage bristling- up, seemed swelled to twice her usual size. 

 The young crowded together behind her, apparently sensible of their 

 perilous situation, moving backwards and forwards as she advanced or 

 retreated. This interesting scene lasted for at least ten minutes ; the 

 strength of the poor parent began evidently to flag, and the attacks of 

 the squirrel became more daring and frequent, when my good friend, 

 like one of those celestial agents who, in Homer's time, so often decided 

 the palm of victory, stepped forward from his retreat, drove the assail- 

 ant back to his hole, and rescued the innocent from destruction." To 

 escape capture when wounded the Tilt-up will resort to many devices. 

 One day when out shooting along Beaver creek, a tributary of the Bran- 

 dywine, about two miles from West Chester, I crippled one of these 

 birds ; it fell to the ground and ran rapidly to the edge of the stream, 

 which at this point was probably ten feet wide. The water was about a 

 foot deep, perfectly clear, and, except on one side for about eighteen 

 inches, was dammed back and remained quite motionless. I approached 

 the bird, when, to my great surprise, it plunged into the water and went 

 down to the sandy bottom like a stone. It ran on the bottom seemingly 

 without any difficulty, and even through the swiftly running water along 

 the edge, came up on the opposite side of the stream and thrust its head 

 into some long grass, but kept its body submerged. The bird repeated 

 this performance three times before I secured it. The Tilt-up is not gre- 

 garious. 



The Spotted Sandpiper is also known by many as Peet-weet, a name 

 given in imitation of its rather shrill cry. This species feeds almost ex- 

 clusively on insects, such as beetles, flies, grasshoppers, larvae, worms, etc. 



GENUS NUMENIUS BRISSON. 

 Numenius longirostris WILSON. 



Long-billed Curlew; Sickle-bill. 



DESCRIPTION. 



" The largest American species of this genus ; bill very long, much curved ; upper 

 mandible longer than the under, somewhat knobbed at the tip ; wing rather long ; 

 legs moderate ; toes united at base ; entire upper parts pale-rufous, tinged with ashy ; 

 every feather with transverse and confluent bands of brownish-black, most numerous 

 and predominating on the back and scapulars ; secondary quills, under wing-coverts, 

 and axillaries, bright rufous ; primaries with their outer webs brownish-black, and 

 their inner webs rufous, with transverse bands of black ; under parts pale-rufous, 

 with longitudinal lines of black on the neck and sides ; tail rufous, tinged with ashy, 

 transversely barred with brownish-black ; bill brownish-black ; base of under man- 

 dible reddish-yellow ; legs bluish-brown ; specimens vary to some extent in the 

 shade of the rufous color of the plumage, and very much in the length of the bill ; 

 the rufous color is probably more distinct in the young. Length about 25 inches 

 (extent about 38) ; tail 4 ; bill 5 to 8 ; tarsus 2* inches." B. B. of N. A. 



Habitat. Temperate North America, migrating south to Guatemala and the West 

 Indies. Breeds in the South Atlantic states, and in the interior, through most of its 

 North American range. 



