SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC.: LONG-BILLED CURLEW 259 
young were seen on the plain, June 20, 1903. Birds apparently nesting had been 
seen a few days earlier near Santa Rosa (Bailey); also 35 miles south of Fort Sumner 
June 30, 1913, and near Fort Sumner July l (Ligon). The occurrence of the species 
at Fort Wingate, July S, 1892, probably indicates its breeding at that point (Fisher); 
a specimen was taken June 20, 1898, at Mesilla (Barber); and eggs were collected at 
Los Pinos about June 22, 1864 (Coues), though it is “rarely observed west of the 
Pecos” (Ligon). In the Fort Sumner section of the Pecos Valley one pair was 
reported in 1913. [In June, 1918, several pairs were seen at various points in a region 
20 miles south and west of Fort Sumner, and they were reported commonly by the 
people. A nest, was found near the Pecos early in June, 1918 (Ligon). Near the 
Pecos, north of Santa Rosa, a nest was reported to Mr. Ligon by Mr. P. Bright in 
1918. In the spring of 1919, great numbers of curlews of undetermined species were 
found in eastern New Mexico (Ligon). They were common over all the open coun¬ 
try of the northeastern part of the State; numbers were seen in the Tequesquite 
Valley between Albert and Gallegos, May 16, 17, and 18; and near David flocks of 
8 and 10 besides lone birds were seen (Piper). More were seen in the vicinity of 
Vaughn than for years, and 15 milee east of Vaughn on May 13, 1919, a nest with 
four nearly fresh eggs was seen, and several pairs of the birds observed (E. F. Pope). 
On May 29 and 30,1924, about 7 miles southeast of Vaughn, a nest was found. None 
of the birds were met with in the Lower Pecos Valley or on the Lower Staked Plains 
south of Portales, but ranchers stated that they were quite common in some parts of 
the district. North of Nara Visa as far as Clayton they were often seen, practically 
all breeding birds. However, they were most abundant in the wide valley of Teques¬ 
quite Creek, about Albert in Harding County. While none w'ere observed west of 
this valley it is known that they nest rather freely in some seasons in San Miguel 
County (Ligon).1 
During the fall migration one of the two forms, americanus or occidentalism which 
one, is as yet undetermined, is common over much of the lower part of New Mexico 
where neither occurs in the breeding season, and other undetermined birds have been 
noted in spring and fall migrations in various parts of New Mexico. An unusually 
early migrant was taken July 14,1892, at Cloverdale (Mearns), and curlews range in 
the fall at least to 7,000 feet, at which altitude they were notedAugust. 28,1845, on 
the headwaters of the Canadian River (Abert). In August, 1911, they were noted 
on the Carlsbad Bird Reserve (Ligon). On August 25, 1913, a flock of about 100 
was seen on the Maxwell Reservoir in Colfax County (Kalmbach); [on August 22-28, 
1926, a small flock was seen on the lakes near Socorro (B. R. Britton)!. The height 
of fall migration is during September, but the birds remain common much later, 
in the Jornada, October 5, 1905 (Ligon); and Santa Rosa, November (Gaut). 
Winter birds were occasionally seen on the Carlsbad Reserve in January, 1915 
(Willett). 
Spring arrivals were noted on the New Mexico-Chihuahua line 60 miles west of 
El Paso, March 22,1892 (Mearns), at Apache, March 25,1886 (Anthony); [at Dom¬ 
ing one was taken March 26, 1921, from a flock of about 100, and on the Rio Mimbres 
two were seen April 7, 1927 (Kellogg) ]; in 1915 one was seen on the Tularosa River, 
5 miles southeast of Aragon, April 10; a flock heard passing over the Cuchillo Moun¬ 
tains, 16 miles northeast of Fair View, April 18; and one seen flying about Mayberry 
Lake, at the west end of the San Augustine Plains, April 25 (Ligon); about 300 were 
estimated on the Carlsbad Bird Reserve, March 26, 1914 (Cooper). It was noted 
near Fort Wingate, April 8, 1909 (Peterson).—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —A slight hollow in the ground lined with grasses and weeds. Eggs: 3 to 4, 
olive clay-color or brownish ashy, superficially spotted or blotched with chocolate 
and blackish, with deeper-lying markings. 
