CUBLEW-SANDPIPEB 303 



When immature Curlew- Sandpipers first reach our 

 shores in early autumn, they, like many other Arctic-breed- 

 ing birds, show little fear of the presence of man. For 

 instance, on September 4th, 1900, I approached close to a 

 party of ten of them and watched them gently ' pick-axing ' 

 with their curved beaks in the muddy ooze. A few, tired 

 after their long journey, were sleeping, their beaks buried 

 in the feathers of the wings. The active members of 

 the party kept up a soft and rather musical chatter. 



I have known a solitary Curlew-Sandpiper, when feeding 

 with a flock of immature Dunlins, to allow me almost within 

 grasping-range of it. Approaching closer, it was highly 

 amusing to see its tall figure, hastily retreat with stretched 

 legs and neck, through the flock of more dumpy Dunlin, 

 just as a big policeman would wend his way through a crowd 

 of excited civilians. 



This bird has frequently been taken inland, viz., from 

 the shores of lakes, rivers, and even from the drier pas- 

 turage of the hillside. 1 In August, 1902, I obtained a 

 specimen from among a flock which were feeding on the 

 muddy banks of the River Maine, co. Kerry, some miles 

 from the coast. I noted a few more of the same species 

 searching for food over wet meadow-land. 



Flight The flight is very powerful ; it is somewhat 

 more undulating, though less twisting, than that of the 

 Dunlin, and equally swift. I have seen Curlew- Sand pipers 

 ascend to a great height in the air when disturbed by the 

 presence of a hawk. 



Voice. The alarm-note, heard in autumn, is not unlike 

 that of the Dunlin, but is shorter, less plaintive, and often 

 distinctly two-syllabled ; sounding like tweety-tweety-tweety, 

 tweet-tweet. Sometimes it is a long drawn one-syllabled 

 note like tweeze. A chattering is kept up as the birds feed 

 together. 



Food. The food consists of marine insects, small crabs, 

 worms, and shell -fish, which are sought for by day and 

 night. I have frequently found small glistening pebbles in 

 the gizzard of this species. 



Nest. The nesting-haunts of the Curlew- Sandpiper were 



light and almost uniform in colour, so that several times I have mistaken 

 the birds for Curlew- Sandpipers. Putting them to flight, however, settled 

 the question, for I then noted the absence of white over the tail, so 

 plainly discernible as the Curlew- Sandpiper takes wing. 



1 Eight Curlew- Sandpipers were shot out of a flock on the Dublin 

 mountains in September, 1879 (Ussher, ' Birds of Ireland,' p. 287). 



