LONG-BILLED CURLEW. 



25 



dered along the sides with a thick warty edge ; lining of the wing 

 dark rufous, approaching a chesnut, and thinly spotted with black. 

 Male and female alike in plumage. The bill continues to grow 

 in length until the second season, when the bird receives its per- 

 fect plumage. The stomach of this species is lined with an ex- 

 tremely thick skin, feeling to the touch like the rough hardened 

 palm of a sailor or blacksmith. The intestines are very tender, 

 measuring usually about three feet in length, and as thick as a 

 Swan's quill. On the front, under the skin, there are two thick 

 callosities, which border the upper side of the eye, lying close to 

 the skull. These are common, I believe, to most of the Tringa 

 and Scolopax tribes, and are probably designed to protect the skull 

 from injury while the bird is probing and searching in the sand 

 and mud. 



VOL. VIII 



