Birds of Massachusetts. 213 
or four eggs, of a dull yellowish green. Though 
they breed here, their nests are seldom found, and 
no one has yet given an account of their migrations. 
The Bay Iers, Ibis falcinellus, is a rare and acci-. 
dental visiter, inserted on the authority of Nuttall, 
who says that a single specimen is sometimes offered 
for sale in the market at Boston. 
The Lone-sintep Curtew, Numenius longiros- 3 
tris, is seen in Massachusetts in the spring, on its 
way to the north to breed; in August they return, 
to spend the winter in warmer regions. Dr. Brewer 
tells me that he has seen large flocks of them at Na- 
hant, and they are offered for sale in the market in 
Boston, at the close of the summer. The name cur- 
lew, is an imitation of their cry of alarm, by coun- 
terfeiting which, the fowler takes advantage of their 
sympathy, and brings them within his fatal reach. 
The Esquimaux Curtew, Numenius Hudsonicus, 
passes the winter at the south, and returns in the 
spring, on its way to the north, where it breeds ; but 
in what place is not known. Audubon could not 
find them at Labrador, nor learn that any had ever 
been seen in that country. In August and Septem- 
ber they return, and many of them are shot in 
Boston harbor. They are found in pastures as well 
as marshes, feeding on grasshoppers and berries, till 
the time of their departure, when they assemble in 
large flocks, preparatory to their migration. 
