TOWNSEND AND ALLEN: LABRADOR BIRDS. 353 



shores of Labrador from Ungava to Mingan, and along the courses 

 of the numerous rivers and the shores of lakes in the interior. The 

 eggs are laid during the latter part of June or early in July and the 

 young appear in July. 



Audubon in his Labrador journal speaks of finding a nest "made 

 of a quantity of dried grass, forming a very decided nest, at least much 

 more so than in our middle states." 



We observed this bird only at Battle and Great Caribou Islands 

 and at Cape Charles, four or five birds in all. At Battle Island on 

 July 13th, we watched the manoeuv.ers of a pair of these birds in their 

 efforts to drive a couple of Eskimo dogs away from the vicinity of their 

 young which were probably hidden in the grass. The birds alter- 

 nately attacked the dogs and then allowed themselves to be chased 

 by them. In the first instance the birds flew furiously at the dogs, 

 almost striking them and whistling loudly. In the second instance, 

 the birds flew away slowly close to the ground so that the dogs were 

 tempted to chase them. The incident illustrated the dangers of 

 Eskimo dogs as destroyers of eggs and young birds. 



[Numenius Iongirostris Wils. Long-billed Curlew. — Coues was assured 

 of the occurrence of this bird in Labrador by hunters, but Audubon and Turner 

 both state that they could obtain no evidence of its presence. As old female 

 Hudsonian Curlews, with their long bills are often mistaken by gunners for 

 this species, we have placed this bird in the doubtful list. It is western in its 

 distribution.] 



Numenius hudsonicus Lath. 



Htjdsonian Curlew. 



Uncommon autumn transient visitor. 



Coues saw a few and states that they were shy and were most numer- 

 ous at the time N. borealis was taking its departure. Turner saw three 

 at the mouth of the Koksoak River in September, 1882. Weiz records 

 it at Okkak, and Stearns and Frazar both state that it is not a rare 

 migrant in the autumn. Audubon, on the other hand, says: "En- 

 tirely unknown. Even Mr. Jones and his sons, who had probably 

 killed thousands [of N. borealis] .... had never seen it in the course 

 of their long residence at Bras d' Or." On September 3, 1776, Cart- 

 wright says that a curlew he had shot "weighed 15 oz. (the common 



