NATURAL HISTORY OF THE WHIMBBEL CURLEW. 255 



and with something like the noisy scream of the 

 gander, they will almost seem to attack him, till, in 

 their turn, intimidated by a shot or a stone. The 

 nest is a very careless one, being on the ground, 

 and placed in a dry spot either of moss or heath, even 

 in a furrow, or field of new-sown grain. Some grass, 

 or dry leaves, forms its scanty lining. The young of 

 the common curlew used to be deemed tender and ex- 

 cellent eating. The plumage of the head, neck, 

 and breast, is of a pale yellowish brown, varying in 

 depth of tint, and darkest on the crown ; the shafts 

 of the feathers of a deeper brown, which broadens at 

 the bottoms, forming those triangular markings so 

 common in birds. The underneath parts are of a 

 bluish white, but on the belly and sides the white is 

 variegated with dashes of brown. The upper parts 

 are rich- tin ted, shot with purple, the feathers cut out 

 in grey and ash-colour and white. There is a gloss 

 of purple also on the brown quills, and the axillary 

 feathers are barred with ash-colour and brown; the 

 tail is white, barred with an ashy brown tint, and 

 the bars indented with reddish white ; bill deep 

 brown at the tip, and shading into a pinky yellow : 

 legs and feet of a lead colour. 



The Whimbrel Curlew of British authors (Sco- 

 lopaxplieopus, Linn. Numeniuspheopus, Latham, &c.). 

 This variety is not so common in England as the 

 last-mentioned ; nor does it breed with us. Its 

 dissimilarities with the common curlew are chiefly 

 two. Its differing call, expressed by its name of 



