133 



NOTE ON THE AUSTEALIAN CUELEW AND ITS 

 CLOSELY ALLIED CONGENERS. 



By Colonel W. V. Leg&e, E.A., F.Z.S. 



A comparison of the Australian Curlew with its near 

 Asiatic ally, and its more distantly related representative in 

 Europe and Western Asia, may not be uninteresting to 

 Members of this Society who study ornithology. 



The Curlews of the old world, like other members of the 

 "Wader family (Charadriide), resemble one another in plumage, 

 and hence we find that a few years ago Naturalists con- 

 fused them not a little ; we have the Indian and the 

 Chinese Curlew spoken of as the European bird, and there 

 seems to be some confusion about the European and South 

 African species. Unlike the American Curlews, which have a 

 distinguishing characteristic on the buff tinting of the under 

 wing and axiliaries, the old world species differ chiefly in 

 character of the markings of the breast and axiliaries and 

 in the ground colour of the rump, and it is by referring to 

 these parts that a correct diagnosis of the above species, on 

 which I make this note, can be founded. A marked charac- 

 teristic, however, of the Australian bird is its length of bill. 



The European or common Curlew is: — Numenius Arquata 

 (Linn), described as Scolopax Arquata, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 

 Ed., 12, 1. p. 242 (1766). 



The Eastern, or Asiatic Curlew is : — Numenius Lineatus 

 (Cuvier), Eeg. An., 2nd Ed., 1. p. 52 (1829). 



The Australian Curlew is : — Numenius Cyanopus (Vieillot), 

 2nd Ed., du Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. Vol. viii., p. 306 

 (1817). 



The latter is the Numenius Major of Schelgel from Japan, 

 and the Numenius Australis of Gould from Australia, and like- 

 wise the Numenius Eufescens of Gould, in the proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society, 1832, p. 286 — which name appears 

 to have been founded on a specimen in breeding plumage. 



The following diagnostic table will tend to illustrate the 

 characteristics above alluded to : — 



