BIRD-LIFE ALONG THE SHORE. 197 



the same noisy way. We hear most of them in 

 September. Occasionally a few birds are tempted to 

 alight upon the Paignton sands, but they rarely stay 

 for many hours, and are wild and unapproachable. 

 Two springs ago we got within a hundred yards 

 of a pair of Whimbrels on these sands, when they 

 rose with much clamour and flew round and round 

 in circles for a long time, until they finally went 

 off in a northerly direction at a great height in 

 the air. Small parties of these birds are seen 

 pretty regularly about the estuaries, and a few 

 occasionally remain on them all the winter. This 

 bird unquestionably migrates across country, and 

 is by no means confined to the coasts. We know 

 of few more impressive migrations than that of this 

 species. From early autumn until the following 

 spring the Curlew is one of the most familiar of 

 the larger birds upon the shore. Familiar at a 

 distance only, for there is not a warier bird upon 

 the coast, or one more ready to take alarm and 

 disturb all other fowl in the vicinity as it dashes 

 impetuously away. The Curlew used to be by no 

 means uncommon amongst the rocks at low 

 water in Tor Bay, but its numbers have decidedly 

 decreased the last few years. Probably this is 



