NTJMENIUS. 



327 



z 



NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS. 



AMERICAN CURLEW. 



Numenius axillaribus pallide castaneis. 



Diagnosis. 



Examples from the Atlantic coast do not appear to differ in any way from others from the Variations. 

 Pacific coast. 



Numenius longirostra, Wilson, Am. Orn. viii. p. 23 (181 A). 



Numenius melanopus, Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 308 (1817). 



Numenius rufus, Vieillot, Gal. des Ois. ii. p. 115 (1834). 



Numenius occidentals, Woodhouse, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad. vi. p. 19 1 (1852) 



Plates. — Wilson, Am. Orn. pi. 64. fig. 4; Audubon, Birds Am. vi. pi. 355. 

 Habits. — Baird, Brewer, & Ridgway, Water-Birds N. Amer. i. p. 311. 

 Eggs. — Described by Brewer in tbe above-mentioned volume, p. 314. 



Synonymy. 



The American Curlew, like the other Curlews, differs from the Whimbrels in having a 

 uniformly striated crown. From its nearest allies it differs in two very conspicuous points. 

 In the first place the rump, instead of being pure white with or without streaks, but in 

 either case in strong contrast to the darker mantle, scarcely differs in colour from the rest 

 of the upper parts ; and, in the second place, the axittaries, instead of being white barred 

 or unbarred with brown, are uniform deep buff. It may be distinguished from its Siberian 

 ally by the absence of bars on the axittaries, or by its rich buff underparts, unstreaked on 

 the lower breast and belly. 



It breeds in Temperate North America, and winters in Mexico and Central America, 

 but is a resident in many of the intervening districts. On the Pacific coast it has not 

 been recorded further north than Vancouver Island. There is no evidence that it has 

 occurred in Canada, but on the Atlantic coast it breeds as far north as Prince Edward's 

 Island. It probably does not breed south of Texas, but it winters in Guatemala and in 

 some of the West India Islands. I have not been able to find any reliable evidence of its 

 occurrence in South America. 



Literature. 



Specific 

 characters. 



Geographi- 

 cal distribu- 

 tion. 



