acr)T/)PACID.K - THE SXIl'K FAMILY - Nl'MENIUS. 



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aiilioaranot' in tiu' sult-marslics of that inland in Au^fiist. It is said sonu'tinics to 

 |'ii'i|U('iit tin' uplands, wlicrc it iccds on insects and licnics oi' vai'ions kinds, lu'cominj^ 

 vi'i-y fat, altlionf,di even then its flesh is not well-tlavoied. 'riie llii^dit of the llndson- 

 ian Curlew is descrilied as liein^' easy and steady; and it readily olieys the fowler's 

 wiiistlf, goiierally prescMitiuj,' an exetdleut mark, 'i'his sjieeies is reniarkalile for tlio 

 niiinner in whieli it syni|iatlii/es with its wonnded eoni|iaiiions — a trait also eons|iie- 

 u>'iislv dis|dayed l»y the Lon^'-hilled Curlew. StrajiKliuj,' individuals id' this s|ieeie.s 



lire ( asionally ohscrvi'd to linj,'ei' i)ehind until the early pait id' Novendtei', hut in 



i,niiiral all have hd't liy the middle of Oetoher. 'I'hey ale known to the i^'unners of 

 l.oii^,' Island hotli as the •• Sliort-i)illed " and as the ".hudx " Curlew. 



Aeeoi'din^' to |)resser, this s|ieeies is of oee.isional oeeurrenee in Southei'n 'I'exas 

 IikiIi in s|)ring and fall; and he proi'ured two specimens wiueh had been shot niMir 

 San .\ntonio. It is the least eommon there of the Curlews. 



lieirne, in his " .lonrney to the Aretie Ocean " — a work puhlished nnne than a 

 century aj,'o — (p. 421), desij,'nates tliis species as the '■ Escpiiniaux Curlew "' — a name 

 niiw ,i,dven ex(dusiv(dy to the smaller liirtl. A'. /ii>rrii/!.». He states that at tlu! time of 

 his writing,' l)oth species wei-e founil in ^'reat inindiers on the coasts of Hudson's Hay 

 durin;.,' the summei'. an<l that they l)oth lireed in all parts of it. as far north as lati- 

 tude 72". This hird always keeps near the sea-coast, awaitiui,' the elihiiij,' of the tide.s, 

 and lieiui,' frequently found in Ljreat nnndiei's at, low-water mark, where it feeds on 

 the marine insects which are. found in j^i'eat ahundanee liy the sides ()f the stones. At 

 liii,di-wator it retires to the dry ridj,'es, and awaits thts rceedin.i,' of the ti(h'. This hird 

 will answer to a whistltMinitatinj,' its note. It flies as steadily as a Woodt'oek. and 

 as it rests hint,' on the win.i,', presents itstdf as a mark whi(di can he easily hit. llearno 

 .adds that, at times, this Curlew is rci^fanled as delicious eatinj,'. 



Auiluhon did not ol)serve this s| ies in Lahrador, and altliou.tfh he made dilij^ent 



inquiries amonit int<dli'.^ent residents, could find no one who knew of its oceurreiiee 

 there. XevertheU'ss others havu met with and seeuri'd specimens of a low individ- 

 uals (d' this sjiecios in that rejj;ion. This liird is nsnally very shy, and it is .seen in 

 the greatest numbers at the time of the deiiarture of the /mmi/ls, which specii'S it 

 greatly vesenihles in its general ajipearance, haiiits, and manner of leeding, although 

 having a nnich louder and harsher voice. 



Wilson, although h(> rcd'ers to this species in his description of Scolojxi.r fmmtlis, 

 was not aware of the existence of two species of Short-iiilled Cnrh'ws, an<l it is ini- 

 possihle to determine, whicdi one he had in view in his aceonnts of its hahits. Jt is 

 inoliahle. however, that whih^ Ills description of the phuuage beh)ng3 to the larger 

 s|iecies, it is the smaller cmo to which his account of the habits of the Cnvlew is to bo 

 referred. The same is also true (d' Xuttall's statements, we btdieving that this sjie- 

 eies is more exclusively ,a feeder in the salt-marshes, and that it rarely, if ever, feeds 

 • III the u])lands in the manner of the /mrm/is. Xuttall states that, previous to its 

 clepartnr(> .south in the tall, this species will assemble in large Hocks near the sea- 

 hcach ; and he Avas informed by a friend that it luul been seen in an island in the 

 I'iscata(iua River in a (lens(> Hock of many thousands, thickly covering several acres 

 (if gronnd. Barren birds of this species are found on the Atlantic coast from May 

 to .August, bnt are nsnally of solitary habit. Andubon states that he has found this 

 liird abundant on the .shores of Xew Jersey in May, where it remains a few we(<ks, 

 and that he has seen a large flock of these Cnrlews near Charleston, S. (J., iu 

 December. 



Mr. MacFarlane met with this species breeding on the TJarren Gronnds, on what 

 is known as the Eskimo Barrens, on the Lower Anderson River. The nests were on 



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