NUMENIUS. 



325 



The Oriental Curlew breeds in Siberia, in the valley of the Obb as far north as the Geographi- 

 Arctic Circle, but in Eastern Siberia not further than Dauria and the southern tributaries ^fj,j^"'^^'''"" 

 of the Araoor. It passes through Turkestan on migration, and occasionally strays as far as 

 the east coast of Africa ; but its usual winter-quarters are India, Ceylon, Burma, and the 

 islands of the Malay Archipelago. It not only frequents the sea-shore from the Mekran 

 coast to Borneo, but occurs inland on the banks of rivers and lakes. It was probably 

 this species which Prjevalski found breeding in the valley of the Hoang Ho. 



NUMENIUS TENUIROSTRIS. 



MEDITERRANEAN CURLEW. 

 NoMENius pileo sequaliter striate : tarso breviore (minus quam 75 millim.). 



No local races of this species are known. 



Numenius tenuirostris, Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 302 (1817). 

 Numenius syngenicos, Von der Miihle, Orn. Griechenl. p. Ill (1844). 



Plates. — Dresser, Birds of Europe, viii. pi. 577. 

 Habits. — Dresser, Birds of Europe, viii. p. 237. 

 Eggs. — Dresser, Birds of Europe, viii. p. 239. 



The Mediterranean Curlew is a very distinct species. It combines the colours of the 

 Curlew with the dimensions of the Whimbrel. It scarcely differs fcom the Eastern form 

 of the Common Curlew except in size and in its bill, which is not only absolutely but 

 relatively smaller. The length of bill varies so much in the Curlews, being much greater in 

 the female than in the male, that for diagnostic purposes the measurements of the tarsus 

 are more reliable. The Mediterranean Curlew may be diagnosed by two characters. For 

 the first, tarsus less than three inches long is the best, and for the second either axillaries 

 pure white or crown uniformly striated excludes every other species in the genus. The latter 

 character is the most reliable, as examples of the Whimbrel occasionally occur in which the 

 bars across the axillaries are almost obsolete. 



It is a resident in the basin of the Mediterranean, occasionally breeding as far north 

 as latitude 50°, especially in South-east Russia, where it is a migratory bird. It has not 

 been recorded from any locality east of the Ural Mountains. In Africa its numbers are 

 increased in winter by migrants from Europe, but it is unknown in Tropical Africa. 



Diagnosis. 



Variations. 



Synonymy. 



Literature. 



Specific 

 characters. 



Geographi- 

 cal distribu- 

 tion. 



