CUKLEW 363 



irregular line ; just before alighting they usually cluster 

 close together. 



Voice. The whistle of a startled Curlew, so piercing 

 when uttered close by, is rendered clear and melodious 

 when heard in the distance. It appeals at once to our love 

 of wild natural scenes ; with it we associate the drear and 

 lonely slob-lands, where the hardy feathered denizens brave 

 the terrors of wind and wave. The mournful cry of the 

 Curlew brings back to our memory the long cold nights of 

 winter, when we seek refuge in our cosy homes, artificially 

 warmed and lighted, while the Curlew and its companions 

 .are risking the perils of a vast migratory flight over land 

 and sea. 



No shore-bird possesses a voice so pathetic, and at the 

 same time so markedly characteristic. The two syllables 

 sound QiSCoi'tr-lee or cour-lii, from which this species has aptly 

 derived its name. 1 But in addition the Curlew produces 

 another note, rather harsh and croaking, and yet not 

 altogether unpleasant. It is generally heard w 7 hen the 

 flocks are feeding or taking short flights, and seems to 

 denote satisfaction rather than alarm. 



Food. On the beach, sand-worms, crabs, shrimps, and 

 small shell-fish, are largely eaten ; worms, insects, and 

 berries, form the diet at the breeding-grounds. The late 

 Mr. E. Williams has shown me dissections of the mouth 

 and gullet stained with blackberry juice, and the late Mr. 

 Glennon, of Dublin, found the stomach of a Curlew filled 

 with blackberries, the juice of which stained the intestine 

 (Waiters, ' Birds of Ireland,' p. 144). Sir E. Payne-Gallwey 

 has detected cockles swallowed whole, as well as a small 

 heath-snail (Helix ericetorum). I have found fine grass- 

 blades and roots in the gizzard of immature birds shot in 

 September. 



Nest. During March and early April, pairs of Curlews 

 may be met with at their nesting-quarters on exten- 

 sive bogs and elevated moor-lands in our Isles. For some 

 weeks later in the spring, flocks of considerable size, 

 pushing further north to breed, may be seen passing along 

 our sea-board. The nest, which is nothing more than a 

 slight hollow scraped in the ground, is frequently situated 

 on the grass-covered portions of bog-lands or on the hill- 



1 There is a peculiar turn in the Curlew's whistle, which very few 

 persons can properly imitate. 



