The Redshank. 361 
ounces ; and is found in winter on the sea-shore on all 
sides of England. The middle parts of the feathers of 
the head, neck, and back are black, the borders or out- 
sides ash-coloured, with a mixture of red ; and the lower 
part of the body white. The beak has a regular curve 
downward, and is soft at the point. This bird's flesh 
may challenge for flavour and delicacy that of any other 
water-fowl, and the people of Suffolk say proverbially : 
" A Curlew, be she white, be she black, 
She carries twelve pence on her back :" 
but it must be confessed that the quality and goodness 
of the flesh of Curlews depend on their manner of feed- 
ing, and the season in which they are caught. When 
they dwell on the sea-shore, they acquire a kind of 
rankness, which is so strong, that, unless they are 
basted on the spit with vinegar, they are not agreeable 
THE EEDSHANK. (Totanus calidris.) 
This bird has received its name from the colour of its 
legs, which are of a crimson red. In size it is between 
the lapwing and the snipe, and is sometimes called the 
Pool Snipe. The head and back are of a dusky ash- 
colour, spotted with black, the throat party : coloured 
black and white, the black being drawn down along the 
feathers. The breast is whiter, with fewer spots. The 
Kedshank delights in the fen countries, -and in wet and 
marshy grounds, where it breeds and rears its young. 
