buffeting and w/iauping with all his might'. When the young are hatched, they remain near the s p o t; and
are for a long time difficult to raise ; a pointer will stand and road them ; and at that time they are tender
and well flavoured. By autumn they are nearly all dispersed to the sea-coasts, and have now lost their clear
whistle. They remain here until next spring, feeding at low tide 011 the shore, and retiring for a few miles to
inland fields at high water; on their return again at the ebb, they show a remarkable instance o f the instinctive
knowledge implanted, and most conspicuous, in the migratory sea- and water-fowl. During my occasional
residence on the Solway, for some years past in the month of August, these birds, with many others, were the
objects of observation. They retired regularly inland after their favourite feeding-places were covered. A
long and narrow ledge of rocks runs into the Frith, behind which we used to lie concealed for the purpose
of getting shots a t various sea-fowl returning a t ebb. None were so regular as the Curlew. The more
aquatic were near the sea, and could perceive the gradual reflux : the Curlews were far inland; but as soon
as we could see the top of a sharp rock standing above water, we were sure to perceive the first flocks leave
the land, thus keeping pace regularly with the change of the tides. They fly in a direct line to their feeding-
grounds, and often in a wedge shape;; on alarm, a simultaneous cry is uttered, arid the next coming flock
turns from its course, Uttering in repetition the same alarm-note. In a few days they become so wary as
not to fly over the concealed station. They are one of the most difficult birds to approach, except during
spring; but may be enticed by imitating their whistle.” -
“ The cry of the Curlew,” says Thompson, “ is by far the loudest uttered by any of our grallatorial birds.
It will perhaps be scarcely credited that it can be heard a t the distance of nearly three English miles; yet,
under peculiar circumstances, such is the case. I have heard it on calm moonlight nights, when at the extremity
o f the bay at Holywood Warren, awaiting the flight o f these birds from Harrison’s Bay and Cons-
water, whence the flowing tide would drive them from particular banks respectively about two. and three
miles distant from my station. The call from the first-named locality sounded quite near, and from the
latter distinct, though much more faintly, the state of the tide evincing with certainty that all the banks,
except the two alluded to, were covered too deeply with water for the birds to be on them.%-,
“Whilst in Norway,” observes Mr. Hewitson, “ we were much amused with what appeared to us to be
quite a new and unnoticed habit amongst the Grallatores or Wading-birds. We found it to be a practice by
no means uncommon with the Redshank and Greenshank, to settle upon tr e e s ; but what surprised us more
than all, was to see the long-legged Curlew alight, as it frequently did, on the tops o f the highest trees of the
pine forest, and to hear it as it passed from tree to tree, utter its loud clear whistle. Mr. George Matthews
informed me, on his return from Norway, that Curlews were common during summer, and generally in
pairs about Trondhjem, where they were usually seen perched on the tops of the cabins o f the peasantry.”
Mr. Selby states that “ the nest is placed on.the ground amongst heath o r coarse herbage, in a shallow
part scraped in the ground, and lined with decayed grass and rushes. The eggs are four in number, placed
with their large ends outwards, and the smaller meeting to a point in the centre o f the nest, of a pale olive
colour, blotched all over with two shades o f brown. The young leave their place of birth as soon as hatched,
and are then covered with a thick yellowish-white down, varied with spots and masses o f brown. By degrees
the feathers develope themselves ; but the young birds are not sufficiently fledged to take wing till they are
six or seven weeks old. During this period they are assiduously attended by their parents, who lead them
to appropriate feeding-places, and, by brooding over, protect them from the cold and wet. Under these
circumstances Curlews lose the excessive shyness that characterizes them a t all other times, and, when the
young are approached, will fly close around the intruder, uttering their cry of courlis in quick repetition.
The flesh o f these birds is excellent, being juicy and highly flavoured, and is in great estimation for the
table.”
A partial, but not very striking, change takes place in the plumage of the Curlew a t the pairing-season,
the tints becoming somewhat richer, and the spotting more apparent, the lighter portions of the feathers
o f the upper surface assuming a redder hue, and the stripes o f black on the neck and chest becoming more
conspicuous;:!^ The plumage of both sexes is a lik e ; the female is generally the larger of the two:; but to
determine the sex with certainty, dissection must be resorted to. Considerable difference occurs in the length
of the hill, some individuals, even o f the same sex, having that organ much longer than others ; and it would
seem that it increases in length even after the bird is capable o f reproduction.
The Plate represents an adult and two young ones, of the natural size.