Shore Birds of Cape Cod. 
John C. Gaboon. 
Eskimo Curlew, Numenius borealis , (Forst.) 
Dough-bird on Cape Cod. A rare spring and 
common summer and fall migrant. The bird 
rarely, if ever, visits the Cape in the spring and 
I do not know of one instance of its being taken 
or seen. This is one of the birds that is the 
most irregular in appearance on our coast. It 
is seen at intervals from July 15th to October 
1st. The occurrence of this bird in any great 
numbers depends entirely upon the wind and 
weather, for if we have a heavy gale from the 
east or south-east of a few day’s duration dur- 
ing the latter part of August, or in September, 
we are sure to have one or more flocks stop. 
As soon as the wind shifts about so as to be 
favorable for their southward migration most 
of the number will depart but a few individuals 
will remain for a considerable length of time. 
There were a great many flocks of these birds, 
in company with Golden Plover, passed over 
the Cape in the latter part of August, 1883. I 
saw large flocks high in the air flying in over 
the land in a south-easterly direction at Brews- 
ter. I learned of quite a number of Eskimo 
Curlews being taken at Eastham, Orleans, and 
other localities at this same date. In Septem- 
ber of the same year I found them common on 
, /./So- 
r* , * . 
Monomoy Island, and heard of their being so 
at Chatham. Since that time there have been no 
flights of any consequence, and for the past 
three seasons they have been quite scarce, 
i They frequent old fields and pastures, often 
several miles from the shore, and feed on ber- 
ries, grasshoppers, crickets and other insects. 
They occasionally go on to the dry salt marshes 
and there too they find an abundance of grass- 
hoppers and insects. On Monomoy Island they 
are found on the sand hills about the gray moss 
that covers a large portion of the Island. 1 
have a specimen that was shot out of a flock of 
Sandpipers on the dry sand beach at Monomoy 
Island Sept. 10, 1887. Like the other Curlews, 
they fly high and swiftly, their wings moving 
with great rapidity, and the flock usually takes 
the form of the letter V in flying, thus resem- 
bling some of our water fowl. While in the 
air they keep up a continual whistling, which 
is not as loud as the Hudsonian. Many writers 
give the name by which this bird is known in 
New England as “Doe-bird.” It should be 
written “Dough-bird,” which does not change 
the sound. The reason that it is called by this 
appellation is on account of its fatness, which 
give a soft and yielding feeling, like dough up- 
on handling. They are well flavored and being- 
very fat and of good size, command a price ; 
nearly double that of any other shore bird. ' 
Gunners realize as much profit from these birds 
in several day’s shooting, when they are plenty, 
as they do in a season's shooting of other birds. ! 
O &0. XIII. Oct. 1888 p. 153-4 
