274 THE COMMON CURLEW 



banks of a tidal river where the receding water lays bare extensive 

 banks of soft ooze — are most probably quite familiar with the note 

 of the Curlew, however ignorant they may be of the form or name 

 of the bird from which it proceeds. A loud whistle of two syllables, 

 which may be heard for more than a mile, bearing a not over-fanciful 

 resemblance to the name of the bird, answered by a similar cry, 

 mellowed by distance into a pleasant sound — wild, but in perfect 

 harmony with the character of the scene — announces the fact 

 that a party of Curlews have discovered that the ebb-tide is well 

 advanced, and that their feeding-ground is uncovered. The stroller, 

 if quietly disposed, may chance to get a sight of the birds themselves 

 as they arrive in small flocks from the inland meadows ; and though 

 they will probably be too cautious to venture within an unsafe 

 distance, they will most likely come quite close enough to be dis- 

 criminated. Not the merest novice could mistake them for Gulls ; 

 for not only is their flight of a different character, but the bill, 

 which is thick enough to be distinguished at a considerable distance, 

 is disproportionately long, and is curved to a remarkable degree. 

 Curlews are in the habit of selecting as their feeding-ground those 

 portions of the shore which most abound in worms and small crus- 

 taceous animals ; these they either pick up and, as it were, coax 

 from the tip to the base of the beak, or, thrusting their long bills 

 into the mud, draw out the worms, which they dispose of in like 

 manner. When the sands or ooze are covered, they withdraw 

 from the shore, and either retire to the adjoining marshes or pools, 

 or pace about the meadows, picking up worms, snails, and insects. 

 Hay-fields, before the grass is cut, are favourite resorts, especially 

 in the North ; and, in districts where there are meadows adjoining 

 an estuary, they are in the habit of changing the one for the other 

 at every ebb and flow of the tide. From the middle of autumn 

 till the early spring Curlews are, for the most part, seaside birds, 

 frequenting, more or less, all the coast ; but at the approach of the 

 breeding season they repair inland, and resort to heaths, damp 

 meadows, and barren hills. Here a shallow nest is made on the 

 ground, composed of bents, rushes, and twigs of heath, loosely put 

 together. The eggs, which are very large, are four in number. 

 During the period of incubation the male keeps about the neigh- 

 bourhood, but is scarcely less wary than at other seasons. The 

 female, if disturbed, endeavours to lure away the intruder from 

 her dwelling by the artifice, common in the tribe, of pretending to 

 be disabled ; and great anxiety is shown by both male and female 

 if any one approaches the spot where the young lie concealed. 

 The latter are able to run almost immediately after they are 

 hatched, but some weeks elapse before they are fledged. It seems 

 probable that an unusually long time elapses before they attain 

 their full size, for the dimensions of different individuals vary to 

 a remarkable degree. Eight or nine specimens were brought to 



