Jfiould'& XCBidita; deh eD ìiffu.
NUMENIUS PHJEOPUS.
Whimbvel.
Scolopax pbaopus, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 60.
— borealis, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Na t.,.tom. i. p. 654.
Numenius pTueopus, Lath. Ind. Om., vol. ii. p. 711.
:— minor, Leach, Syst. Cat. of Indig. Mainm. and Birds in' Coll. Brit. Mu«., p. 32.
---------- hudsonieus, Lath. Ind. Om., vol. ii. p. 712.
-i'ln1 islandtms, Brehm, Vdg. Deutschl., p. 610.
Phaopus arquatm, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xii. p. 36.
W h im b k e ls usually arrive in England in the early part o f May, and disperse themselves along our coasts,
particularly those o f the eastern comities ; they are then on their passage northwards 5 but a few remain to
breed 00 the moors o f Scotland, and perhaps on those of the northern parts of England also; but if any
nests be round in our southern counties, the circumstance must be regarded as quite exceptional.
Still it cannot be denied that a few remain and winter with us. On the Continent, the high lands
o f Norway, Sweden, Lapland, and Iceland are, among others, favourite b ree d in g -lo c a litie s ,,.\
Its range over the Old World is very extensive ; for, besides occurring in all parts of Bur^pe, Mr. Edward
Vernon Harconrt includes it in his ‘ L ist of the Birds o f Madeira;’ Mr. F. dii Cane Godmaii‘:state's that it is
occasionally m et with on the coasts o f the Azores ; it is found all over Africa from north to south'; according
to Mr. Jerdon it is very generally dispersed over India, and is supposed to go to Java, China, and Japan ;
indeed its range is probably even still more extensive ; but it is not found in America, neither does it
frequent Australia. v
Mr. Stevenson’s account o f the Whimbrel as observed by him in Norfolk being equally descriptive-of the
bird in other localities, I quote it in his own words :—“ The Whimbrel visits us regularly in spring and
autumn, on its passage to and from ita breeding-grounds ; and though a few may be seen occasionally
in March or April, the appearance of the main body in May on the Brevdon and Blakency muds - so invariable
that the species is always spoken of as the * May-Bird ’ fey the gunners in both ìocaKtie*. Their
numbers, as with all migratory shore-birds, vary much in different seasons; but at time- Uwry are very
plentiful, as was particularly the case in the spring o f 1863. Of these, the chief portion pass on to the
northward after a few days ; but small parties may be seen on different parts o f the coast up to the middle
o f June, and even as late as July. At Hunstanton,.in 1863, I found one o r two small flocks frequenting the
mussel-scalps up to the second week in J u n e ; and Mr. Dowell has observed th em a t BIaxeney, in two or
three different seasons, between the 25th and 30th o f July, ‘not paired off, but keeping together in “ herds”
of from eight to ten,’ m ost probably birds which would neither breed here nor elsewhere during that summer.
By the end o f August o r beginning o f September, old and young together have again commenced their
southward journey ; but the numbers then seen are but few in comparison with the spring flight. In
Mr. Dowell’s notes I find no mention o f this bird having been observed by him a t Blakeney later than the
first week in October; and Mr. F. Frere describes them as always scarce in autumn a t Breydon, and rarely,
if ever, seen during the winter months. Mr. Lubbock speaks of this species as having been occasionally
very numerous a t Horsey, visiting the marshes in considerable flocks in April and May ; and in describing
the habits of the bird he says :— ‘ They are far more easy of access than the Curlews, and when disturbed
make shorter flights, removing only from one marsh to another, instead of rising high in the air and forsaking
the district altogether, as the Curlew generally does. They have a clattering confused cry in flight, which
baffles any imitation by the human voice.’ This cry, however, according to Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear,
resembles the sounds ‘Weddy, tetty, tettij, tetfy l e t ' quickly repeated.”
In confirmation o f his assertion that these birds are very plentiful at some seasons more than a t others,
Mr. Stevenson refers to Mr. Cordeaux's statement, in the ‘ Zoologist,’ that a flock o f at deast two hundred
appeared in the Humber district about the 3rd o f May, and that on the 13th o f May, 1868, he counted
up to sixty-one in one flock, and saw another containing not less than doublé th at number; and when
speaking, o f their diminished numbers in autumn, he remarks that Mr. Cordeaux has noticed that in Lincolnshire,
during the months of August and Sefucmber 1866, the Whimbrels were seen in small parties,
passing overhead at a considerable height, constantly repeating their call-note and flying in a south o r southwesterly
direction. Mr. Cordeaux also states; from his observation of the bird in the same county, that
the Whimbrel ' is far more o f a land-bird than the Curlew, feeding almost exclusively in marshes, and