" The most magnificent and interesting wader that breeds in the British Isles." 



THE COMMON CURLEW 



T 



-4- 



HE Common Curlew is in 

 my opinion the most 

 magnificent and interest- 

 ing wader that breeds in 

 the British Isles. Its 

 wonderful intelligence and 

 wariness always render it 

 one of the most fascinating 

 subjects for me to circumvent and 

 portray with my camera. For upwards 

 of twenty years I lived and wandered 

 amongst the solitudes of the Yorkshire 

 moors within sound of its noble voice, 

 and I never hear the bird's thrilling notes 

 again without having my soul stirred to 

 ecstasies within me. Quite recently I 

 have succeeded in taking moving pic- 

 tures of the Whaup as the bird is called 

 in Scotland going on to her nest, hust- 

 ling her eggs into position beneath her, 

 and leaving again to chase a marauding 

 crow away from her neighbourhood, 

 and, as sportsmen and shore gunners 

 well know, this is an achievement of 



which anybody could be legitimately 

 proud. 



This species lives upon the seashore 

 during the winter months, picking up 

 sand worms, mollusca, and all kinds of 

 marine trifles. Here it displays the 

 most wonderful intelligence, for, rest- 

 ing upon some fallow field miles 

 away from the sea during high tide, the 

 bird knows by some mysterious means 

 the precise moment at which the ebb 

 will leave a favourite sandbank shallow 

 enough to be waded, and away hies the 

 whole flock in its full strength. 



During March and April such birds as 

 intend to breed leave the seaside in 

 pairs for their nesting-ground on moors, 

 uplands, and undrained pastures in the 

 north of England, Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland. 



The nest consists simply of a few 

 short bits of dead grass, rushes, or heather 

 placed in a slight hollow amongst coarse 

 grass, tufts of short rushes, or stunted 



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