BAY SNIPE. 
43 
No. 3. Esquimaux Curlew— “ Doe Bird ”— “ Futes .”— Nume- 
nius Borealis. 
Numenius borealis, Bonap. Syn. Numenius borealis, Esquimaux Curlew, Sw. 
& Rich. Esquimaux Curlew, Numenius borealis, Nutt. Man. Esquimaux 
Curlew, Numenius borealis, Aud. Orn. Biog. 
“ Specific Character. —Bill along the gap about two inches and 
a quarter; tarsi one inch and five-eighths; upper parts dusky- 
brown with pale yellowish-white, marked all over with pale 
reddish-brown. Adult with a line of white from the bill to the 
eye ; eyelids white ; upper part of the head dusky, spotted in 
front with grayish-white, a medial band of the same color; 
throat white; neck and breast yellowish-gray, with longitudi¬ 
nal markings of dusky on the former, pointed spots of the same 
color on the latter; abdomen dull yellowish-white; flanks 
barred with brown; lower tail coverts the same as the abdo¬ 
men ; tail and upper tail coverts barred with pale reddish-brown 
and dusky, tipped with yellowish-white ; upper parts brownish, 
the feathers tipped with pale reddish-brown, the scapulars mar¬ 
gined and tipped with lighter; primaries dark-brown, margined 
internally with lighter—the first shaft white, with the tip dusky 
—the rest brown. Length fourteen inches and a half, wing 
eight. 
“In New-Jersey, New-York, Massachusetts, and Rhode 
Island, this species is seen every season. It frequents the open 
grounds in the vicinity of the sea-coast, feeding on grasshoppers, 
insects, seeds, worms and berries. It arrives among us in the 
latter part of August, and remains until the first of November, 
when it assembles in flocks, and moves off to its winter quarters 
which are said to be south of the United States. I have shot a 
few stragglers in this vicinity as late as the twentieth of Novem¬ 
ber. It occasionally associates with the Golden Plover. In the 
autumn it is generally in fine condition, and unlike the former 
two, its flesh is well flavored. In the vicinity of New-York it is 
known by the name of * Futes’—in the Eastern States it is called 
‘ Doe Bird.’ It breeds on the barren grounds at the North.”—- 
Giraud's Birds of Long Island. 
