The Curlew is a common bird, visiting our coasts in 
numbers during the cold months, in the spring it retires to 
thb extensive moors and lakes in the Northern part5 of the 
kingdom to breed. The female does not make any nest, 
but lays her eggs (four in number) on a tuft of rushes or 
dry grass ; they ard of a pale greenish olive colour, marked 
with brown spots, most numerous at the large end. The 
young ones begin to use their legs as soon as hatched, but 
do not fly till after their first moulting. 
There is considerable diversity of opinion in regard to 
the quality of the flesh of this bird, some authors assert it 
to be of exquisite flavour, others quite the reverse ; this 
may be accounted for, by the different kinds of food the 
bird lives on ; those taken inland are of a very fine flavour, 
whilst those on the sea shore are rank and fishy. 
In the Island of Jersey, it is an usual diversion to shoot 
these birds by moon-light on the sands, their time of feed- 
ing being principally at night ; it is not a little remarkable, 
that the birds taken on that coast, have not the same offen- 
sive taste as those which are found on our shores. 
The Curlew is of a wild and shy nature, and is by no 
means easy of approach ; but in captivity it soon looses 
its natural timidity, and maybe kept like the Lapwing, in 
gardens, where it readily devours snails, worms, and slugs ; 
they are frequently brought alive to the London markets by 
fishermen. 
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