

«■ "n ■ ^. 





814 



PILECOCIAL fiUALLATOKKS — LIMICOLyE. 



of New Jersey about the luiddle of .May, iiiid a,y;iiin in Seiiti'inbcr. He inferred — 

 prohaldy incorrectly — that tlicsc Idrds necessarily went nnith to lireed. Their ioml 

 seemed to cnnsist ciiicHy id' small <'ral)S. for which they very dexterously [jrohe, jmlj. 

 iiij,' them out of the holes with their lon^,' l)ills. They also feed on the small sea- 

 snails, so common in tlie salt-marshes, and on various worms and insects. In the fall 

 they are said to lie very foml of the licrries of tlie wild iirand)lcs. on whi(di they fenl 

 with eafjferness, hecomin;,' very fat, and are then excellent eatin;^', not haviu},' the rank 

 sed^'y flavor ac([uired hy those birds which feed exclusively in the marshes, ^\■ils(lll 

 states that in some cases one or two pairs have l)een known to remain iu the sail- 

 marshes at Cape May all throu,i,di the summer. 



In Major lion.n's expedition some id' this species wei'c observed iu the northeiii 

 part of Illinois (hit. 4l'° N.). dune \n. from which it was naturally inferred that 

 they were brccdin.y; there. It is now known that they ])rol)ably l)reed iu all, or neailv 

 all, the Western States north of the Ohio and west cd' Lake Krie. 



Xuttall observed them on the muddy shores of the Santci', near Charleston, S. ('.. 

 in Jamuiry. Audulion alterward ascertained that this Curlew is a constant resident 

 in the Southern States, that it is well known both iu sumnu'r and winter abnut 

 Cliarleston, and that it breeds on the islands ou the coast of Scnith Carolina; but lie 

 met with none oi this species iu Labraihjror in any jdace from Eastjjort to the most 

 northern piu'tiou visited by him. and he satistied himsidf, IVom his inquiries amoni;' 

 well-informed I'csidcnts. that none are ever found there. 



The Ivev. Dr. ISacdimau found it lireedin,t;iu Scmth Candiua, where it nested on the 

 grcmnd, formiui,' a very scanty reccptaide for its e.ufis, and placini-' the nests so closely 

 t()j,'ether that it was almost im|)ossil)le for a nuiu to walk iu'tween them vitlmur 

 injurin|4' the ej;'i;s. 



In South Caridina Anilubon oliserved that this sjieoies spent the day in the sea- 

 marshes and returned at the ajiproach of ui,i;lit to the sandy Ijcachcs cd' the sea-shore, 

 where it rested until the mornin;^. lie states that the nund)er (d' these birds tiiat 

 ■would thus collect for the night souu'tinu's anumuted to several thousands, lie vis- 

 ited Cole's Island, near Charleston, in order to witness its movements. Just after 

 siuisct the birds began to make their ai)]iearance, iu ])arties of from three to live, and 

 were by no nu'ans sliy. As it became darker the nund)er of Curlews increased and 

 the Hocks approaidied in more rapid snccessi(Ui, until they seemed to form a contin- 

 luius ])rocession, moving in an extended mass at the height of not more than tlnrt y 

 yards, not a sound being heard exci'iit the I'cgulai' tla])pings of their wings. Tlicy 

 flew directly toward their resting place — known as the lUrd lianks — and aliglited 

 without perfornung any evolutions. Hut when the party f(dlowcd them to tiiese 

 banks — which wvw small sandy islands — the congregated Hocks, amounting to 

 several thousand individuals, all standing (dose together, rose at once, performed iu 

 silence a few ev(dutioi>s, and re-alighted, as if with one accord, on the extreme margin 

 of the sandbank, idose to the bi'cakers. The next morning a little before daylight 

 the party again visited the banks; i)nt as soon as they landed the birds all rose a few 

 yards in the air, and flew off in various directions to their feeding-groimds. 



i\lr. Moore has nu't this s])ecies in Florida during the summer nu)nths, Imt was 

 not able to obtain any evidence that it breeds there, althougli regarding it as (piitc 

 probable that this is the ease on the more distant islands along the coast of that 

 State. 



The eggs of this species, — whiidi vary considerably in their grouud-c(dor and in 

 the distribution of their nuirkings — are jiyriform, or a rounded oval pointed at one 

 end. In one (S. I. No. 2910) the ground-c(dor is a pale (dive-drab, the markings licing 



