THE CURLEW. (Numenius arquatus.)
“Soothed by the murmurs of the sea-beat shore,
His dun-grey plumage floating to the gale,
The Curlew blends his melancholy wail
With those hoarse sounds the rushing waters pour.”
Miss Williams.
“Wild as the scream of the Curlew,
From rock to rock the signal flew.”
Sir Walter Scott.
The Curlew is a large bird, weighing about twenty-four ounces; and is found in winter on the sea-shore on all sides of England. The middle parts of the feathers of the head, neck, and back are black, the borders or outsides ash-coloured, with a mixture of red; and the lower part of the body white. The beak has a regular curve downward, and is soft at the point. This bird’s flesh may challenge for flavour and delicacy that of any other water-fowl, and the people of Suffolk say proverbially:
“A Curlew, be she white, be she black,
She carries twelve pence on her back:”
but it must be confessed that the quality and goodness of the flesh of Curlews depend on their manner of feeding, and the season in which they are caught. When they dwell on the sea-shore, they acquire a kind of rankness, which is so strong, that, unless they are basted on the spit with vinegar, they are not agreeable eating.