262 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
26. Whimbrel Numenius ptueopus Linne 
phcz -o-pus — Gk, pliaios , grey; Gk, opsis , appearance. 
Distribution .—Northern Europe and northern Asia, migrating south¬ 
wards to Africa, Australia, and Tasmania; accidental to New Zealand. 
Notes .—Also called Jack Curlew, Australian Whimbrel, and May- 
fowl. Usually in flocks, arriving in Australia during September or 
October, departing in March or April. It frequents sea beaches, mud and 
sand-flats of tidal waters, or salt marshes, often in the company of the 
Curlew. Its call-note is a high, clear, short whistle, repeated seven or 
eight times in a descending scale of semitones. Food: small crustaceans 
worms, and aquatic insects. 
Nest .— A hollow scooped in the ground, scantilv lined with grass, and 
generally placed on a hummock or mound, mostly a bare one, in an 
exposed situation. 
Eggs. — Four, pale olive, blotched and spotted with greenish-brown 
and brown markings. Breeding-season: June and July (northern Eurone 
and northern Asia). 1 
27. Little Whimbrel Mesoscolopax minutus Gould 
t meS ° S ’ inttrm ' diate; Gk - ™»-»- 
and Tasm'aniaJacddental'to^Ne^v^Zealand! 1 " 1 *’ S ° UthW!,rdS * A " S ‘ ralta 
grasshoppers"'worms! ^ 4 " “ Wh ' S ' le ' F °° d: insec,s 
Nest .—Not recorded. 
Eggs .—Not recorded. 
28. Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinclla Brunnich 
falcineUa, HtUe scythe^ marSh; L ” to inhabit: fal-cin-cll'-a—L., 
wardf IfS&TAfriS anfSina Ur ° Pe ’, and , Asi *' mi ^>ng south- 
and Australia. Chma * ac «dental to the Molucca Islands 
AustSXJ'nothing hZ ^n^Lhed^° ccurr enc,e of this species in 
wintering here. It was first observLl d . concernin g its habits while 
tlie Northern Territory and there h n ™ rth ~ westeri1 Australia; later in 
Botany Bay in Decent 1916 PerW wh,ch was collected at 
overlooked. It frequents fresh and Volt usannuall y. tut has been 
shore, and when on migration 35 the 
