SCOLOPACID^: — THE SNIPK FA\riLY — NUXIENIU9. 



323 



suporciliiiry stripe above it ; reiiminder of the head, neck, and lower parts generally, bully w'uite, 

 llic iliin and throat, abdomen, thij;h.s, and anal region, more nearly white and innnaeulate ; cheeks, 

 link (all round), ju},'uliun, and breiust, distimtly streaked with brown; sides irregularly marked 

 wiih the same; axillars white, barred with brown. Back an<l wings grayish brown, in egularly 

 >|Mitted with ligliter ; primaries dusky, the inner (juills slightly sjiotted. Entire rump immaculate 

 white ; ui)per tail-coverts while, barred with brown. Tail Ijiownish gray, barred with dusky, and 

 tipped with white. 



Wing, J).;3(»-l().r)() ; culmen, 3.(tO-;}.f;o ; tarsus, ^.ao-i'.oO ; middle toe, 1.4n. 



Tliis spjcies bears a strong superficial resemblance lu X. Uudsunicus, but may be inimcdiutcly 

 ilistiiiguis'ied by the jmre white, unspotted, rump. 



Tlie " Whinibrel," •• Wliiiubrel Curlew," " HiilRkirU'w," or •• Jack Curlew " — as it 

 is variously callod in diiTcrcut parts of Great Jiritaiii — is of occasional occurrence in 

 (Irci'iiland, and claims a jdace in our fauna exclusively on that ground. It is found 

 tlmntgliout Xortheru Europe and Asia in its breeding-season, ami during the re- 

 iiiainder of the year is i.i tuicertain appearaiu-e in vari(ms portions of the Old World, 

 including Ja])an and other islands. In ali respects, of jdumage, haunts, habits, and 

 iiidd. the Wliiiid)rel very closely resembles the Common European Curlew, but is 

 iiiuch smaller in size, aiul nowhen^ occurs in such numbers. It is met with occasion- 

 ally on the shores of (ireat liritain during the winter, but is much more plentifid 

 tliere in May, and again in September. The larger portion of these i)irds are nngra- 

 tdiy, either on their way to mort^ northern regions, where they breed, or returning 

 til nil the north with their yoiing brood. Only a few breed within the limits of Great 

 liritain, aiul these almost exclusively in the islands north of Scotland. 



According to Thom])son this bird is only seen in Ireland in the spring and in the 

 autumn, ami at these periods it is also common on the Grampians and in other ele- 

 vated districts of Scotland. Mr. Selby mentions meeting with this species in the 

 summer of IH'M on the margin of Loch Shin, in Sutherland.shire. Mr. Salmon found 

 it breeding among the Orkney Islands, ami states that it nests very early, all its 

 eggs having been hatched by the 'M of .Iuiu\ Yarrell states, on the authority of 

 Dr. Fleming, that this bird also breeds in Shetland, where it is known as the '■ Tang- 

 uliaep,'' and that the lu'sts are placed on exj)osed ])arts of the he.ath. Mr. Ilewitson 

 also found it breeding on two of the Shetlaiul Islands, Veil and Hascosea — where, 

 however, it is rapidly decreasing in luimbers. Mr. Dinni, who has several times 

 visited both the Orkney and the Shetland Islands, informed Mr. Yarrell that while 

 tlie Curlew and the Whimbrel do not associate* together, he has found their nests 

 within a gunshot of each other, tmd that the latter leave those islands as soon as the 

 i)reeding-season is over. 



The Whimbrel is said to feed on insects and worms, and their note to resemble the 

 syHables tellii-telhj-ti't, rapidly enunciated. On the continent of /Europe, :ind during 

 the breeding-season, this bird is found throughout Deiimark, Scandinavia, and Russia. 

 Mr. Ilewitson met with it occasionally in the western \t\xvt of Norway, ami Mr. 

 Dunti informed Mr. Yarrell that a few breed in Lajdand as high as latitude Gu°. It 

 is also a regidar summer visitor to the Fariie Islands and Iceland. 



It is not known to breed on the southern coasts of England, yet small lit)cks have 

 been recorded by ^Ir. Knox as occurring in Sussex in the months of May and June. 



During the winter the Whimbrel is known to extend its migrations as live scuth as 

 Madeira, and in its journeyings it occurs in Holland, Geruiany, France, Sjuin, Italy, 

 and in all the various islands of the Mediterranean. It is more common in Holland 

 than in any other country. It Avas found by Menefries, a Russian naturalist, on the 

 borders of streams in the region of the Caucasus. It has been met with in various 



^i 



