THE LONG-BILLED CURLEW. 



{Numenius longirostris.) 



Each day are heard, and almost every hour, 

 New notes to swell the music of the groves. 

 And soon the latest of the feathered train 

 At evening twilight come; — the lonely snipe, 

 O'er marshy fields, high in the dusky air, 

 Invisible, but, with faint, tremulous tones, 

 Hovering or playing o'er the listener's head. 



— Carlos Wilcox, "The Age of Benevolence." 



The Long-billed Curlew is the largest 

 of the American curlews and has a wide 

 range covering nearly the whole of tem- 

 perate North America. It is not a bird 

 of high altitudes and in winter it seeks 

 the milder chmate of the Southern 

 States, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and 

 Jamaica. During the breeding season, 

 which is passed in the South Atlantic 

 States or in the interior of North Amer- 

 ica as far north as Manitoba, it is not a 

 social bird. While migrating, however, 

 and in winter, it enjoys the society of its 

 fellows and is generally observed in flocks 

 of a greater or less number. 



Mr. Wilson has well described its 

 flight during migration or when passing 

 from one feeding ground to another. He 

 says, ''The Curlews fly high, generally in 

 a wedge-like form, somewhat resembling 

 certain ducks, occasionally uttering their 

 loud, whistling note, by a dexterous imi- 

 tation of which a whole flock may some- 

 times be enticed within gunshot, while 

 the cries of the wounded are sure to de- 

 tain them until the gLmner has made re- 

 peated shots and great havoc among 

 them." 



Though the natural home of the cur- 

 lews is the muddy shores and grassy low- 

 lands adjacent to bodies of water the 

 Long-billed species also frequents drier 

 places at a distance from water, and even 

 breeds in the uplands. Here their food 

 consists of worms, insects and berries. 

 When fattened with such food their flesh 

 is tender and lacks the stronger flavor 

 that is present when they have fed ex- 

 clusively on the animal food of the 

 marshes of the sea shore. It is interest- 

 ing to watch the Curlew upon the beach 

 as it gracefully moves from point to 

 point in search of food. Now and then 

 it thrusts its long sensitive bill into the 



soft soil and usually draws forth some 

 form of animal food — a larva of some 

 insect, a crab, a snail or a worm. Fre- 

 quently it will explore the holes of craw- 

 fish and it is often rewarded with a 

 dainty morsel of curlew food. 



The Curlew's bill is very characteristic 

 and especially adapted to the bird's habit 

 of probing for food. It is very variable 

 in length and not infrequent^ grows to 

 a length of seven or eight inches, and 

 it has been known to reach a length of 

 nearly nine inches. The upper mandible is 

 somewhat longer than the under and is 

 provided with a knob at the tip. The bill 

 is much curved, a characteristic which 

 has given the bird the names Sickle-bill 

 and Sickle-billed Curlew or Snipe. It 

 was the curved bill that suggested to Lin- 

 naeus the generic name Numenius for 

 the curlews. It is a Greek word mean- 

 ing the new moon. The long bill also 

 suggested to Wilson the specific name 

 longirostris or long-snouted. 



Dr. Coues says, 'Tts voice is sonorous 

 and not at all musical. During the breed- 

 ing season, in particular,- its harsh cries 

 of alarm resound when the safety of its 

 nest or young is threatened." 



The Long-billed Curlew spends but 

 little time in home building. Its nest 

 consists of a layer of grass placed in any 

 suitable saucer shaped hollow on the 

 ground. 



The downy young resemble the adult 

 bird but little. In color they are a pale 

 brownish yellow modified by a trace of sul- 

 phur yellow, the under parts being some- 

 what darker. The upper parts are irreg- 

 ularly mottled with coarse black spots. 

 At this period in the life of this Curlew, 

 the bill is straight and about one and 

 one-half inches in length. 



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