KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 289 
NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS Zaz/. 
Hudsonian Curlew. 
Adult in summer: Bill curved downward; top of the head brown, with a stripe of buffy 
white through the middle ; rest of upper parts dark brown; feathers pale on the edges, giving a 
slightly mottled appearance to the back; chin white; throat and breast streaked and faintly 
barred with brown and white; belly dull white; an imperfect superciliary stripe. 
Adult in winter: Similar to the last, but showing much more tawny mottled on the upper 
parts, and the under parts paler; a superciliary stripe of dull white. 
Length, 17.50; Wing, 9.20; Tarsus, 2.30; Bill, 3 to 3.75. 
Common in North America, south in winter to South America and the 
West Indies. Breeds in the far North. 
It is one of the well-known birds on the Atlantic coast, occurring dur- 
ing the migrations. 
This species may always be distinguished from the Esquimo or Long- 
billed Curlew by the buffy stripe on the middle of the crown. The eggs are 
described as three or four in number, grayish olive spotted with brown. 
