400 NL'MENIUS BOREAL1S. 



NUMENITJS BOEEALIS. 



Esquimaux Curlew. 

 Numenius borea/is LATH., Ind. Orn. II; 1790, 712. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, robust. Size, mall. Bill, but little longer than head. Tongue, short, thin, and gradually taper- 

 ing toward tip which is acutely pointed. 



COLOU. Adult. Above, dark-brown, streaked on head and neck, spotted on back, and banded on rump upper tail cov- 

 erts and tail, with ashy-yellow. Primaries, brown, without bandings on either web. Beneath, ashy-yellow, becoming 

 reddish under wings, streaked on neck and breast and banded on sides and flanks with dark-brown. ' 



Youny. Similar to the adult but paler and the markings are not as well defined. Bill, brown, yellow at base of lower 

 mandible, iris and legs, brown, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known from all others by the small size, curved bill, absence of bands on primaries, and colors as described Distrib- 

 uted, in summer, throughout Arctic America. Common in autumn on the coast of the Northern States. Winters south 

 of the United States. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from Eastern Nortli America. Length, 1.T50; stretch, 26'50; wing, 8'25; tail, 2'75; 

 bill, 2'25; tarsus, 1'50. Longest specimen, H'OO; greatest extent of wing, 27'00; longest wing, 8'50; tail, 3'00; bill, 2'50; 

 wrsus, 1'75. Shortest specimen, 13'00; smallest extent of wing, 26-00; shortest wing,8'00; tail, sf'50; bill, 2'00; tarsus, 1'25. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Eyy*, placed on the ground in a slight depression of the soil, on a little grass, etc. They are from two to four in num- 

 ber, rather oval in form, varying from yellowish-ash to greecish-brown in color, spotted and blotched coarsely with brown 

 and umber of varying shades. Dimensions from l'30x 1'90 to I'45x2'00. 



HABITS. 



The Dough Bird, as the Esquimaux Curlews are almost universally called, are eager- 

 ly sought after and, consequently, bring a high price in the market. In autumn, they 

 are very fat and are considered fine eating, being far superior to either of the other species, 

 the flesh of which is apt to be strong and dry. During certain seasons, when a severe 

 storm occurs about the middle of September, at which time these birds are migrating, they 

 are driven in from the sea in large flocks. Then the hill-tops are fairly covered with them 

 and in years past, gunners would frequently reap a rich harvest, but of late years, although 

 they occasionally appear in quantities, they never remain long, for they are quickly driv- 

 en away by the numerous sportsmen who are constantly on the lookout for them. The 

 Esquimaux Curlews feed upon berries and insects, especially grasshoppers which they find 

 in quantities on the hills. 



ORDER XIV, HERODIONES. HERONS ETC. 



Legs, long and naked far above the tar sal joint. Posterior toe, present, well-develop- 

 ed^ and always on a level with the anterior toes. Keel, not exceeding in height the width. <>f 

 the sternum. Marginal indentations, two or four. Terminal expansion, with or without cen- 

 tral projection, and it usually approximates very close! i/ to the tip of keel. 



This Order includes the Ibises, Herons, Spoonbills, etc., all of which are widely dis- 

 tributed, but are generally better represented in the Tropics than elsewhere, while the spe- 

 cies are rare north of the Temperate Zone. Some of the species vary considerably in ex- 

 ternal form, as well as in anatomical characters but all these points are given under fam- 

 ily and other headings. 



