370 CHAKADKIIDJS 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Resembles the nuptial 

 plumage, except that the throat, neck, breast, and abdomen, 

 show more white. 



Immature, male and female. The upper plumage of the 

 immature Whimbrel is even more finely chequered giving 

 it a more spotted appearance than that of the immature 

 Curlew. 



BEAK. Proportionately shorter than that of the Curlew, 

 but remarkably similar in the curvature and colour. 



FEET. Brownish-green. 



IBIDES. Blackish-brown. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH ... 17'5 in. Female larger. 



WING 10 



BEAK 3*4 ,, Longer in the female. 



TARSO-METATAESUS 2'5 ,, 



EGG 2-4 x T55 in. 



Allied Species and Representative Forms. N. variegatus, 

 with the lower back more streaked in the adult than in the 

 young, is the true Eastern representative. It inhabits the 

 greater part of Siberia where it breeds, migrating over the 

 Asiatic Continent and as far south as Australia. 



N. liudsonicus, with the axillaries rich buff, is the 

 American representative, but has been obtained in Iceland 

 and once in Spain, whereas our own bird, as a wanderer, has 

 been recorded from Greenland (Saunders). 



ESKIMO CURLEW. Numenius borealis (R. J. Forster). 



Coloured Figures. Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. viii, pi. 575 ; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. v, pi. 54. 



During the autumnal migration this small American 

 species has, on a few occasions, deviated from its usual line 

 of migration and touched upon our shores. 



