Bill very long, slender, subcylindrical, slightly compressed, more or less arcuate or decurved; upper mandible with the ridge broad and flattened at the base, broad and rounded in the rest of its extent, a deep groove running from the nostrils to near the tip, which is decurved, enlarged so as to form an oblong obtuse knob, projecting beyond the point of the lower mandible, the edges rounded; lower mandible similar in its curvature to the upper, its angle extremely narrow, and extending to near the middle, the ridge rounded, the sides with a shallow groove to near the end, the edges directly meeting those of the upper, the tip obtuse. Head rather small, oblong, compressed; neck long; body compact. Feet long; tibia bare below; tarsus scaly above, scutellate for two-thirds; toes rather small, scutellate, first very small, lateral nearly equal. Claws small, compressed, blunted. Wings long, very acute, the first quill longest, some of the inner secondaries greatly elongated. Tail short, much rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.
357. 1. Numenius longirostris, Wils. Long-billed Curlew.
Plate CCXXXI. Male and Female.
Bill more than four times the length of the head, nearly straight to the middle, beyond which it is slightly decurved, deep brown, toward the base dark flesh-coloured; feet light greyish-blue; general ground colour of the plumage light yellowish-red; the head marked with oblong spots; the back with spots and bars of brownish-black; alula and outer web of first four quills deep brown, the rest of the quills of the general colour, barred on both webs with dark brown, as are the tail-feathers; upper part of throat and lower eyelid whitish; neck marked with longitudinal lines of brownish-black; sides barred with the same, as are the lower larger wing-coverts; the rest of the lower parts unspotted, the sides and lower wing-coverts of a richer yellowish-red than the rest. The bill varies from seven to nine inches.
Male, 26, 40.
Resident, and breeds in the Texas and on the Islands off South Carolina. Stragglers go far north. Columbia River. Occasionally seen in the interior.
Long-billed Curlew, Numenius longirostris, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 23.
Numenius longirostris, Bonap. Syn. p. 314.
Numenius longirostris, Long-billed Curlew, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 376.
Long-billed Curlew, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 94.
Long-billed Curlew, Numenius longirostris, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 240; v. v. p. 587.
358. 2. Numenius Hudsonicus, Lath. Hudsonian Curlew.
Plate CCXXXVII. Male.
Bill little more than twice the length of the head, brownish-black, base of lower mandible flesh-coloured; upper part of head deep brown, with a central and two lateral lines of whitish; a brown line from the bill to the eye, and another behind the latter; neck all round pale yellowish-grey, longitudinally streaked with brown, excepting the upper part of the throat, which is greyish-white; upper parts in general blackish-brown, marked with numerous spots of brownish-white, there being several along the margins of each feather; wings and rump somewhat lighter; upper tail-coverts and tail barred with dark brown and olivaceous grey; primaries and their coverts blackish-brown, all with transverse yellowish-grey markings on the inner web, the shaft of the first quill white, of the rest brown; breast and abdomen greyish-white, the sides tinged with cream-colour and barred with greyish-brown.