LONG-BILLED CURLEW. 241 



but the birds thus obtained were rare in those districts, where the species 

 only appears at remote periods ; and in every instance of the kind I have 

 found the individuals much less shy than usual, and apparently more per- 

 plexed than frightened by the sight of man. 



Until my learned friend, Prince Charles Bonaparte, corrected the 

 errors which had been made respecting the Curlews of North America, 

 hardly one of these birds was known from another by any naturalist, 

 American or European. To Wilson, however, is due the merit of having 

 first published an account of the Long-billed Curlew as a species distinct 

 from the Common Curlew of Europe. 



This bird is the largest of the genus found in North America. The 

 great length of its bill is of itself sufficient to distinguish it from every 

 other. The bill, however, in all the species, differs greatly, according 

 to the age of the individual, and in the present Curlew I have seen it 

 in some birds nearly three inches shorter than in others, although all 

 were full grown. In many of its habits, the Long-billed Curlew is closely 

 allied to the smaller species of Ibis ; its flight and manner of feeding are 

 similar, and it has the same number of eggs. Unlike tli? Ibis, however, 

 which always breeds on trees, and forms a large nest, the Curlew breeds 

 on the ground, forming a scanty receptacle for its eggs ; yet, according 

 to my friend Bachman, the latter, like the former, places its nests " so 

 close together, that it is almost impossible for a man to walk between 

 them, without injuring the eggs." 



The Long-billed Curlew spends the day in the sea-marshes, from 

 which it returns at the approach of night, to the sandy beaches of the 

 ^a-shores, where it rests until dawn. As the sun sinks beneath the hori- 

 zon, the Curlews rise from their feeding-grounds in small parties, seldom 

 exceeding fifteen or twenty, and more usually composed of only five or 

 six individuals. The flocks enlarge, however, as they proceed, and in 

 the course of an hour or so the number of birds that collect in the place 

 selected for their nightly retreat, sometimes amounts to several thousands. 

 As it was my good fortune to witness their departures and arrivals, in the 

 company of my friend Bachman, I will here describe them. 



Accompanied by several friends, I left Charleston one beautiful moi-n- 

 ing, the 10th of November 183J, with a view to visit Cole's Island, about 

 twenty miles distant. Our crew was good, and although our pilot knew 

 but little of the cuttings in and out of the numerous inlets and channels in 

 our way, we reached the island about noon. After shooting various birds, 



VOL. III. Q 



