LONG-BILLED CURLEW
264. Numenius americanus. 23 in.
Bill much decurved and very long (4 to 8 in.), the longest of any of our shore birds. Plumage variegated with rufous and blackish above; bright buffy or rufous below, streaked on neck and breast, and barred on the sides with blackish. “Sickle-bills,” as these birds are often called, are the largest of our shore birds. They are very conspicuous either when flying or walking on the marshes or sandbars, their size appearing gigantic when they are in a flock of smaller plover, as sometimes happens. They fly in compact flocks, evidently led by one individual, for they wheel and circle in perfect unison, sailing up in the wind on outspread wings, when about to alight.
Notes.—A flute-like whistle, “ker-loo.”
Nest.—On the ground; eggs greenish-buff, with small black spots over the whole surface (2.50 × 1.80).
Range.—Breeds in the Upper Miss. Valley, north to Manitoba; winters in the Gulf States, and southward; formerly bred on the South Atlantic coast; strays to New England and New Brunswick in the fall.
