. British birds with their nests and eggs . of the plant in question, the meaning of which is other-wise hardly obvious ? On the shore the Curlew lives on moUusca (being verypartial to young mussels), annelids, and the shell-snails it finds, as has beenmentioned, on the adjacent land at high tide. The Curlew is not a favourite bird with the wild-fowler; unceasingly watchful,and possessed of powers of scent almost equal to those of sight, the Curlewinstantly alarms the whole neighbourhood, like a Raven in a deer-forest. But Ihave always thought that its interesting presence and melodious call a

. British birds with their nests and eggs . of the plant in question, the meaning of which is other-wise hardly obvious ? On the shore the Curlew lives on moUusca (being verypartial to young mussels), annelids, and the shell-snails it finds, as has beenmentioned, on the adjacent land at high tide. The Curlew is not a favourite bird with the wild-fowler; unceasingly watchful,and possessed of powers of scent almost equal to those of sight, the Curlewinstantly alarms the whole neighbourhood, like a Raven in a deer-forest. But Ihave always thought that its interesting presence and melodious call a

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. British birds with their nests and eggs . of the plant in question, the meaning of which is other-wise hardly obvious ? On the shore the Curlew lives on moUusca (being verypartial to young mussels), annelids, and the shell-snails it finds, as has beenmentioned, on the adjacent land at high tide. The Curlew is not a favourite bird with the wild-fowler; unceasingly watchful,and possessed of powers of scent almost equal to those of sight, the Curlewinstantly alarms the whole neighbourhood, like a Raven in a deer-forest. But Ihave always thought that its interesting presence and melodious call added greatlyto the enjoyment of a spring walk or fishing excursion in the northern moorlandsnear which my boyhood and youth were passed. The Curlew makes a charming inhabitant of a walled garden, and is as usefulas interesting; it is needless to say that watchful wing-cutting is necessary, unlessthe bird be pinioned. Like many wild and wary birds (and animals, e.g., theRoe-deer) the Curlew gets surprisingly tame and friendly in captivity.. OfUJ cc CQ S The Whimbrel. 175 Family—SCOL OP A CIDAi. Whimbrel. Numenius phceopus, LiNN. A BIRD of immense range, breeding sparsely in the northern islands ofScotland, abundantly in Iceland and the Fseroes, Lapland, and the fells ofNorway and Sweden. In Northern Russia it is uncommon and local. Eastwardsits place is takfen by N. variegatns, which breeds in Eastern Siberia and Man-tschuria, wintering in China, Indo-Malaya, and Australa-sia. I am of belief thatthe two ought to be considered identical. Though the western, form has generallyan unstriped white rump and the eastern a thickly striped one in summer, thisis not always the case; I have a breeding male from Iceland whose lower backand rump are as thickly striped as any Chinese example. In the young and winterplumages the two are admittedly indistinguishable. The birds which breed north of us pass our coasts in numbers in August,and are found in winter on the coasts and islands of Afr