34 
WHITE-HEADED CURLEW. 
(Numenius leucocephalus.) 
Nu. cyaneiis, capite coUoque supremo griseo-albis, remigibus nigris, 
rostro riibro. 
Blue Curlew, with the head and upper part of the neck greyish- 
white, the quills black, the beak red. 
Numenius leucocephalus. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. 711. 
Scolopax leucocephalus. Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1. 656. 
White-headed Curlew. Lath. Gen. Sj/n. v. 123. jo/. Ixxx. Lath. 
Syn. Sup. i. 242. ? 
Tantalus Hagedash. Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 709. Young? 
Hagedash, or Hadelde. Sparr. Voy. 1. 281. 
Described and figured by Latham from the draw- 
ings of Sir Joseph Banks : " size and shape of the 
Common Curlew : beak pretty long, and red : the 
head and part of the neck white : the rest of the 
plumage of a very deep blue, except the quills, which 
are black : legs cinereous grey :" inhabits the Cape 
of Good Hope. The bird called Hagedash or Ha- 
delde by Sparrman is most probably the young of 
this species : its beak is five inches in length, above 
red, below and with the tip black : the neck and 
thighs are cinereous : the back is cinereous variegated 
with green and yellow : the wings are obscure, above 
of a caerulean-black j the lesser wing-coverts are violet : 
the tail is wedge-shaped : the feet are dusky. It is 
larger than a hen ; and is found at the Cape, resting 
by night on trees, and feeding on roots, especially 
})ulbous ones. 
