94 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



its young. These are on the marshy moors, 

 beside the pools, at no great distance from the 

 sea. The nest, usually made on the ground, (in 

 the valley of the Petchora it has been found in a 

 hassock of coarse grass a foot or more above it), 

 is a mere hollow lined with a few scraps of dead 

 grass and rush. The four eggs are buff of various 

 shades, or pale olive, spotted and blotched with 

 amber and blackish-brown, pale brown and gray. 

 As previously remarked the male bird incubates 

 them. When disturbed at its breeding grounds, the 

 Red-necked Phalarope slips off the nest and takes 

 refuge in the water, manifesting little concern for 

 its safety. As soon as the young are sufficiently 

 matured, they and their parents resort to the sea, 

 moving southwards as autumn advances, and for the 

 most part keeping to the water until another 

 nesting season comes round. 



CURLEW. 



This species, (Numenius arquata), is not only 

 the largest Limicoline bird that frequents the coast, 

 but also one of the best known. There are few 

 parts of the shore during autumn and winter where 

 an odd Curlew cannot be found, whilst in some 

 localities it may be classed as absolutely common. 

 The Curlew is another of those species that 

 present little difference between summer and 

 winter plumage, and yet the haunts it selects in 

 summer differ very considerably from those it 



