longitudinally as far forward as the homy portion, open in front, pervious.
Legs long, slender; three toes only, directed forwards, united by a membrane
as far as the second ^articulation. Wings moderate; second quill-feather the
longest in the wing. Tail graduated.
The Stone-Curlew, Thioknee, or Norfolk Plover,
names referring to qualities or habits in this- species, is a
summer visitor 1 to this country, arriving herein April, and
leaving again at the end of September - or- -in -October, and,
like other summer visitors, coming to ; us from the south.
It is essentially a lover of dry and Uncultivated lands during
the breeding-season, and although it -occurs as a straggler
on migration" in a good many counties of England, a ‘glance
at a geological map will shew that its general ^distribution
in this .country coincides broadly with that of the hretaceous
formation, < the chalk downs being especially suited to-its
habits»" In Cornwall, according to the late E. H.. Roddy the
Stone-Curlewis only a winter visitant, and it would appear
that, from the mildness of the dimate, that south-western
county'forms, the northern boundary of the "winter quarters
of the species; The same probably - holds good of Devonshire,
where Montagu records an occurrence g0 early as February
in the year 1807 ; and also of Somersetshire, where it’is
very rare. On entering upon the*chalk downs of Dorsetshire
it is to be found breeding regularly f ’iSdot, subject vto' the
hostile influences of enclosure and cultiva0o'hf->in Wiltshire;
Hampshire (visiting the of- Wight on passage and in
winter); Sussex; Kent, especially on the hills above' Romney
Marsh; Berkshire, Oiffd&d and Bucks, straggling into
Middlesex ; Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, notably on the
chalk hills aboqt Tring.; . and so on, through Cambridgeshire,
to .Suffolk and Norfolk, -where it finds thereonditions; more
congenial than anywhere else in these islands. On either
side of these mainlines the";Jitpoe-Ouidew’ appears toWbe a
straggler; but it is found --breeding in small ~n'fi'mbcrs;-in
Rutland and Nottingham,’and the'late E. Blythe obtained its
young in Worcestershire.' It is still found on'the'W5Ms;of
Lincolnshire,\and across the Humber if-bdntinues jtS breed,
although in decreasing numbers, in a few -localities in the
East Riding, but to West Yorkshire it 4Sbnly a straggler ; '
and in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Wales its occurrence is
very rare, if not absolutely:unknown. North of Yorkshire
a specimen of 'the Stone-Curlew was-obtained in February,
1864, hear South Shields; and another, killed on the 27th
January, 1858v hear St.--Andrew’s, Fife, is in the Museum
of that University. • In Ireland only three- authenticated
occurrences—all of them-in winter—are ' enumerated by
Thompson, and since he wrote about as many more have-
been recorded|
At the present day the headquarters of the Stone-Curlew
are upon the' open' ‘ brecks’ and warrens of Norfolk and
Suffolk. -The late J. D’ Hoy, in a letter, to the Author, says,-
“ there is no part of England where the (Edicn&mus, icrepü
ims so abounds as upon the sandy plains off- Norfolk; jj great
numbers have been caught'in móst "Seasons by the'Sub'--"
scription Heron Hawks at Didlington Hall, Norfolk; they
have 'Wen known to take refuge in a rabbit burrow when
pursued by the Hawk.”
Thé latent; D. Sahnohj then' h i Thetfbrd, says of this
Species, “ that it is Very numerously distributed over all
our warrens-and fallow lands during the breeding-season;
which commences about thé ' second1 week in April; -tho-
femalé- depositing its pair of eggs' upon the bare ground,
Without any nest whatever' f bff'|s generally supposed that
the males take no part' in th é 'labour off, ihpubation ; -this-1
suspect is - not the icase : wishing'to procure for a friend,’a
few' specimens in their breeding plumage; I employed a boy-
tb take them for mé';'- this hé did by ensnaring them on the
nest, and the result was that all those -hé caught'- during the
day proved, upon -diss'ebtiony tofi be males. - They assemble
in flocks preW0us'rtb-;theiK'd'eparture,-which* is usually by
the end of October-; butèslïöüld the weather continue open*
a few will remain to a much later period ; L started one as
lat'è'as the’9th:of'?pé'c‘ërfibér,'in the autumn of“ï :834.”- *
'These birds are usually seen-in unenclosed-countries or
where the'fifeldl are large, and they-'frequent' sheep-walks,
fallow lands, heaths.;;and warrens^ The late ‘Mr. Lubbock