102 
PLOVERS 
265. Numenius hudsonicus Lath. Hudsonian Curlew. 
Smaller than longirostris, with shorter bill and duller coloration ; quills 
plain dusky. Upper parts specked, mottled, and barred with dusky and 
buff; crown black with middle and side lines of buff; a dusky stripe 
through eye ; under parts huffy, barred and streaked on sides, chest, and 
neck with dusky. Length: 16.50-18.00, wing 9.00-10.25, bill 3-4, tarsus 
2.25-2.30. 
Distribution. — Nearly the whole of North and South America and the 
West Indies, breeding in the far north and wintering in the southern 
United States and southward. 
Nest. — A depression in the ground lined with grass and leaves. Eggs : 
usually 4, creamy to pale olive, spotted with dull brown. 
The Hudsonian curlew is common on the coasts but rare in the 
interior. In habits as well as general appearance it is similar to the 
long-billed curlew. 
266. Numenius borealis ( Forst .). Eskimo Curlew. 
Similar to hudsonicus but smaller, with slenderer bill ; crown faintly 
specked with buffy on black, and without a distinct median line of buff. 
Length : 12.60-14.50, wing 8.00-8.50, bill 2.25-2.50, tarsus 1.70-1.80. 
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding in arctic regions and 
migrating to southern South America; west to Kansas and Nebraska. 
Recorded from San Diego, California {The Auk, i. 393). 
Nest and eggs. — Similar to those of hudsonicus. 
The Eskimo curlew is said to be an abundant migrant on the 
plains east of the Rocky Mountains. 
FAMILY CHARADRIIDiE : PLOVERS. 
KEY TO GENERA. 
1. Hind toe present but small. Squatarola, p 
1'. Hind toe wanting. 
2. Upper parts spotted, belly black in summer, grayish in winter. 
Charadrius, p 
2'. Upper parts plain, belly always white .... JEgialitis, p 
GENUS SQUATAROLA. 
270. Squatarola squatarola {Linn.). 
Black-bellied Plover. 
Hind toe minute; bill rather short. Adults 
in summer: face, throat, and belly black, bor¬ 
dered with white ; upper parts spotted with 
black and white ; upper tail coverts white at 
base ; outer half of tail barred with dusky. 
Adults in winter: under parts white, overlaid, 
streaked, and mottled with dusky and gray, 
becoming creamy or white on anal region; 
upper parts spotted with gray and dusky. 
Young.: like winter adults, but spotted above 
with light yellow, gray, and black. Length: 
10.50-12.00, wing 7.50, bill 1.10, tarsus 1.95. 
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan, but 
Fig. 119. 
. 102 . 
. 103. 
. 103. 
