Chapter L: L. Jewel (1913) writes (1)

One of the bird surprises of my life was to see a Hudsonian
curlew tiptoe and catch butterflies within 20 feet of my
front door at Gatun. The clearings in and around the town
seemed very attractive to these birds and they were fairly
tame. Marching or advancing by rushes, always with graceful
dignity, sometimes singly but more often in groups of four
or five, they foraged through the shorter grass, picking
up or catching on the wing their insect food. They usually
kept near the water’s edge or well down in dry gullies, but
also fed on higher ground at times.

_Behavior._--Although Hudsonian curlews may fly swiftly at times and probably make good speed when traveling they appear to me to fly rather slowly and heavily, with steady and rather moderate wing beats; they often set their wings and scale for a long distance. When migrating over land they usually fly high, in flocks, much after the manner of ducks and geese; but when migrating over water or flying to and from their roosting grounds they often fly in long lines close to the water. Their flight has been said to resemble the flight of gulls when moving in flocks, or to suggest that of herons when flying close to the water, but I could never see any such resemblance.

Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1905) says:

They walk and run rapidly, stand still, often with one foot
several inches in front of the other, rest occasionally by
squatting down, with tarsi flat on the ground, or standing
upon one leg, with the other out behind.

William L. Dawson (1923) writes:

The curlews deploy, then, upon the dry sands of the upper
beach and either potter about on listless lookout for
passing insects or else squat upon the sand, tuck bill
under wing, and lose themselves in dreams. There is always
at least one wary fellow on guard, however, and let but
the smallest appearance of motion, be it only a khaki hat,
break the purity of the sky line among the attendant sand
dunes, and a quaver of warning puts the scattered flock on
guard. Sleepy heads are stealthily withdrawn; the birds
rise slowly and begin to creep toward their leader, their
neutral-colored bodies scarcely distinguishable against the
background of sand; and all meanwhile scanning the horizon
for the danger sign. If the alarm spreads, all run down
the beach slope for a quick take-off, pass over the surf
line, and then parallel the shore with moderate, firm wing
strokes until a safe distance has been reached.

_Voice._--John T. Nichols says in his notes:

The flight note of the Hudsonian curlew in migration
resembles somewhat that of the greater yellowlegs, but
is easily distinguished therefrom, being less modulated
and usually lower pitched. It commonly consists of four
short whistles, but is frequently prolonged, sometimes
accelerated into a trill. The more prolonged calls are
usually the dryer and seem characteristic of the noisiest
birds, flying highest or with most uncertainty. On its
northern breeding grounds (Nome, July, 1926) this species
keeps up a continual vocal protest while an intruder is
present. Its note then matches in form the trills which may
be heard in migration but is much more musical and varied
in quality. It may be described as polysyllabic, rolling,
usually 10 syllabled or less; modulated and varied in
tone--loud, reedy, sweet, mellow, or liquid. It is the same
when the bird is in the air as when it is on the ground.

Mr. Mackay (1892_b_) says that the rolling note sounds like “that produced by a boy’s lead bird whistle filled with water.” They also have a soft, musical _cur-lew_ note, more often heard in the spring. Dr. E. R. P. Janvrin says in his notes: “The note uttered during flight, usually just after the birds are put up and apparently an alarm note, sounds like _krek, krek, krek_, quite loud and rather metallic.” E. W. Hadeler refers to this note as _pip, pip_, uttered five or six times in rapid succession.

John G. Tyler (1913) writes:

There are no birds with which I am acquainted that can
compare with these splendid waders in the rich, musical
quality of their voices. On the last day of one April I
encountered a large flock of curlews in a grain field, part
of which was being flooded at the time with irrigation
water. The nervous lispings that at my approach threatened
to break into the clamorous, screaming flight calls finally
subsided, and the birds fed and waded about in the water or
preened their feathers while standing storklike on one leg.
Suddenly I was thrilled with a medley of subdued pipings so
marvelously sweet and musical that I could hardly believe
the sound came from my flock of curlews. The faintest
whispering it seemed, yet the liquid melody was really
far-reaching and was, as I afterwards learned, distinctly
audible from a distance of a quarter of a mile when
atmospheric conditions were favorable. A strange nervous
unrest seemed to affect the entire group on the ground.
The whistlings became louder, and the cause was suddenly
revealed to me when a curlew call from overhead drew my
attention to a flock of new arrivals, nine in number,
that were circling preparatory to joining the company at
the pond. My surprise and admiration knew no bounds when
I realized the sublime heights at which these travelers
through the sky had been flying. Mere specks they appeared,
and yet their melodious call rang clear and distinct.

_Field marks._--A large, rather pale brown bird with a long, decurved bill can easily be recognized as a curlew; the long-billed curlew is larger, has a longer bill, and is much more rufous or cinnamon colored, especially in the wings; the Eskimo curlew is, or was, smaller, with a shorter bill, though young Hudsonians have rather short bills. Mr. Nichols suggests that at close range the much barred under wing can frequently be noticed; the outer primaries look blacker and plainer than in long-billed, and a white streak near the edge of the wing, made by the primary quills, is cut off abruptly at the base by a blackish blotch.

_Fall._--Like most of the northern breeding shore birds, the Hudsonian curlew moves off its breeding grounds as soon as the young are able to shift for themselves, and begins its summer wanderings, or starts on its southward migration early in July. There are two main lines of flight, down the east and west coasts of the continent, as well as a more scattering flight through the central valleys and plains. The eastward flight is from the west coast of Hudson Bay, where many birds linger through August, to the coasts of New England and southward. A few Hudsonian curlews migrate as far east as Labrador; the species has never been common there, but since the disappearance of the Eskimo curlew it has been more in evidence; Lucien M. Turner recorded it only twice in northern Ungava; a few specimens have been taken on the east coast of Labrador.

Adults appear on the coast of Massachusetts about the middle of July and the young birds about a month later; the heaviest flights come in August and September, but young birds often linger well into October; my latest date is October 20. They reach the Carolinas in July; Mr. Wayne (1910) says that he has seen them as early as July 5 and not later than October 2. They are reported as migrating over the Bermudas in August and September, but the last of the birds do not leave the West Indies until November.

Pacific coast flights occur on corresponding dates. Early in August, when the blueberries and crowberries are ripening, large flocks of this and bristle-thighed curlews come down to the Bering Sea coast of Alaska, where large numbers are brought into the markets at Nome all through August and early September. From there the migration is southward along the Pacific coast. D. E. Brown’s dates for Pierce County, Wash., run from August 6 to October 2, but probably there are earlier dates. The earliest birds reach southern California about the first week in July and the latest birds linger through October. Meantime some of the birds have appeared in Peru early in August and in Chile by the middle of that month.

_Game._--The Hudsonian, or “jack,” curlew is a gamey bird, which will test the skill and try the patience of the most experienced sportsman. It is so shy and vigilant that it is difficult to outwit. It is almost impossible to stalk an old bird, but I have, on rare occasions, been able to creep up on a young bird. Most of my chances have been at single birds flying over, when several gunners have been spread over ground where scattered birds were feeding. Once a flock of 15 birds swung by my blind within range, but they did not alight to my decoys. Referring to the “good old days,” Mr. Mackay (1892_b_) writes:

They were apparently as shy then as now, for even then it
was considered essential in order to take them to mortise
a hole in the ground for concealment in the locality
which they frequented or passed over, care being taken
to remove the soil taken out to some distance in a wagon
in order that the place might appear perfectly natural.
Stands were dug in the center of a clump of bushes, as
being less noticeable. In times past, on Cape Cod, I have
used a hogshead, sunken level with the marsh, from which
to shoot them, but even under such conditions I never
secured more than nine in one day, and that only once. The
Hudsonian curlew is a very observing bird and perceives at
once anything strange and out of harmony with the natural
surroundings of any locality which it has been in the
habit of frequenting, and in order to get a flock up to
the decoys considerable care must be exercised. Single
birds or pairs will, however, decoy fairly well if they
have not been harassed. These birds have a way of setting
their wings stationary and sailing, when headed for the
decoys, at a distance of 100 yards or more, the flock
separating out so that there are scarcely any two birds
together, and then hanging, as it were, in the air. During
this time they are most carefully listening and scanning
the decoys and surroundings. A movement causes them to
spring up in the air several feet, and as this is generally
when aim is being taken they are apt to be missed by being
undershot. In order to get them as near as possible I have
frequently set my decoys only a few feet to windward of
my stand, as it is customary for them, when heading for
the decoys, to keep falling off to leeward of them. They
are not an easy bird to kill, being strong and powerful,
and as the distance is usually great at which they are
shot at, owing to their vigilance, many go off wounded and
are not recovered. Should one or more be wing-broken they
frequently commence falling, which causes the remainder of
the flock to hover around for a short time, apparently to
give encouragement to the wounded ones, and while their
attention is thus absorbed they will often afford the
sportsman a second shot, if he keeps concealed. Were it
not for the satisfaction of getting so shy a bird, for, as
a rule, they are but indifferent eating, there would be
little inducement to waste the time necessary to obtain an
occasional one. I take a few every year by getting out of
my wagon into some place of concealment, when I observe
a flock in the distance on the ground, and letting my
companion drive around the other side and start them toward
me. Long familiarity with the ground enables me to form
some idea as to what course they are likely to pursue, and
I have obtained more or less in this manner.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and South America; accidental in Europe.

_Breeding range._--The Hudsonian curlew is known to breed only on the Arctic coast of North America from Alaska (Norton Sound, Kobuk River, Cape Blossom, and probably Camden Bay) to Mackenzie (Anderson River region). It has, however, been noted in summer in Keewatin (Fort Churchill and near York Factory) and may possibly breed in that vicinity.

In common with several other shore birds, some individuals remain in summer far south of their breeding grounds. At this season they have been detected from New Jersey (Great Bay), south along the Atlantic coast--Virginia (Wreck Island, Bone Island, and Wallops Island); South Carolina (Mount Pleasant); to Costa Rica (Coronado de Terraba); and the West Indies (Barbuda).

_Winter range._--The winter range extends north probably to southern California (Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County); probably rarely Louisiana; and rarely (formerly more commonly) South Carolina (Bullyard Sound and probably Charleston). East to formerly South Carolina (probably Charleston, Sea Islands, and Frogmore); probably rarely Florida (Pine Island); probably Cuba; probably rarely Porto Rico (Gundlach); the Lesser Antilles (Barbuda); Guiana (Berbice River and Cayenne); Brazil (Praia de Cajetuba); and Chile (Island of Chiloe). South to Chile (Island of Chiloe). West to Chile (Island of Chiloe, Valdivia, Valparaiso, and Tarapaca); Peru (Lima, Trujillo, and Tumbez); Ecuador (Bay of Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Charles and Narborough Islands); Venezuela (Isla de Aves); Costa Rica; Honduras (Gulf of Fonseca); Guatemala (Chiapam); Clipperton Island; Chiapas (San Benito); Jalisco (La Barca); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (La Paz, San Jose Island, San Francisco Island, and Colorado River Delta); and probably southern California (Santa Cruz Island). A specimen obtained at Rockaway Beach, New York, on December 24, 1912, probably was either a crippled bird or otherwise physically deficient.

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: North Carolina, Corolla, April 15, and Churchs Island, April 19; Virginia, Hog Island, April 1, and Cape Charles, April 13; Pennsylvania, Renovo, May 7; New Jersey, Cape May, April 12; New York, Montauk, April 28, and Shelter Island, May 9; Connecticut, Fairfield, May 6; Rhode Island, Newport, April 27, and Block Island, May 3; Massachusetts, Nantucket, April 10, and Muskeget Island, April 20; Ontario, Brighton, May 7, and Toronto, May 17; Mackenzie, Fort Anderson, May 29; northern California, Alameda, March 27, and Palo Alto, March 28; Oregon, Newport, March 14; Washington, Hoquiam, April 19, and Everett, April 26; British Columbia, Comox, May 3, and Courtenay, May 11; and Alaska, Craig, May 12, Nulato River, May 12, Hooper Bay, May 17, Kobuk River, May 17, and Fort Kenai, May 18.

Late dates of spring departure are: Chile, Concon, April 25; Oaxaca, San Mateo, May 13; Florida, Palma Sola, May 11, and St. Marks, May 19; Georgia, Savannah, May 13; South Carolina, Port Royal, May 22, and Charleston, May 23; North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, May 8; Virginia, Locustville, May 27, and Alexandria, May 30; Pennsylvania, Lancaster, May 27; New Jersey, Cape May, May 23; New York, Long Beach, May 31, Canandaigua, June 1, and Branchport, June 2; Connecticut, East Haven, June 4; Massachusetts, Cape Cod, June 23, and Nantucket, June 25; Ohio, Youngstown, May 24; Ontario, Point Pelee, May 30, Beaumaris, June 4, and Brighton, June 10; Tepic, Las Penas Island, May 5; Lower California, Colima Point, April 25, and San Jose del Cabo, May 1; California, Santa Barbara, June 2; Oregon, Mercer, May 14, and Yaquina Bay, May 18; Washington, Quillayute Needles, May 30, and Dungeness Spit, June 3; and British Columbia, Courtenay, May 23.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia, Courtenay, June 27; Washington, Lake Ozette, July 12, and Destruction Island, July 15; Oregon, Newport, July 10; California, Alameda, July 7, Los Angeles, July 12, and Farallon Islands, July 16; Lower California, Los Coronados Islands, August 7, and Santa Rosalia, August 15; Peru, Chimbote, August 2; Ontario, Point Pelee, July 24; Ohio, Lake County, July 14; Massachusetts, Muskeget Island, July 12, Monomoy Island, July 14, Marthas Vineyard, July 16, and Boston, July 18; Rhode Island, Block Island, July 10, and South Auburn, July 23; Connecticut, Milford, July 20, and North Haven, July 26; New York, Rockaway, July 10, East Hampton, July 11, and Orient, July 11; New Jersey, Tuckerton Bay, July 2, Long Beach, July 9, and Cape May, July 15; Pennsylvania, Erie, August 1; Bermuda, August 14; Virginia, Chincoteague, August 1; North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, July 22; South Carolina, Charleston, July 19; Georgia, Savannah, July 27; Alabama, Dauphin Island, July 27; Florida, Bradenton, July 31, and Tarpon Springs, August 3; and West Indies, Barbuda, August 12.

Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Craig, September 24, and St. Lazaria Island, September 30; Mackenzie, Great Bear Lake, September 30; British Columbia, Courtenay, October 5; Washington, Clallam Bay, October 9, and Point Chehalis, October 19; Ontario, Brighton, September 1; Quebec, Montreal, September 9; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, September 13; Maine, Northeast Harbor, September 5; Portland, September 9, and Dover, October 12; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, September 28, Harvard, October 2, and Dennis, October 27; Rhode Island, Sakonnet Point, September 25, Rock Island, September 28, and Newport, October 2; Connecticut, New Haven, September 19, and North Haven, September 20; New York, Montauk Light Station, September 28, and Orient Point, September 30; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, September 13; and Virginia, Wallops Island, September 23, and Hog Island, November 10.

_Casual records._--The Hudsonian curlew is of hardly more than accidental occurrence in the interior but has been noted on a few occasions. In addition to notes given under migration, mention may be made of the following records: Colorado, a specimen at Colorado Springs on September 23, 1900; New Mexico, a specimen at Fort Thorn in the spring of 1854; Texas, Brownsville, several records in spring between March 31 and May 24; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 8, 1898; Wisconsin, Milwaukee, September 9, 1903, and Cedar Grove, September 23, 1922; Iowa, Crystal Lake, Hancock County, May 25, 1895; Michigan, St. Clair Flats, May 25, 1902, Saginaw City, fall of 1896, and Forestville, April 23, 1906; and Indiana, Calumet Heights, August 3, 1902. Reports exist for other interior States but usually without satisfactory evidence.

Both Macoun and Hagerup list it as occurring in Newfoundland, but without any presentation of the evidence. In Porto Rico, Gundlach reported collecting it at Punta Arenas, and also refers to a specimen in a collection at San Juan, Stahl secured two others which were preserved in his collection, F. A. Potts obtained one May 21, 1921, near Las Mareas, and observed others from July 31 to September 24, 1921, near Central Aguirre. According to Reinhardt (1861), it has been taken on four occasions in Greenland (Godthaab, Julianehaab, Fiskenaesset, and Jacobshavn). A specimen was recorded in 1854 by Kjärbölling from Iceland and one was taken near Seville, Spain, May 3, 1872.

_Egg dates._--Alaska and Mackenzie: 11 records, May 31 to July 10; 6 records, June 14 to July 1.

NUMENIUS BOREALIS (J. R. Forster)

ESKIMO CURLEW

HABITS

The story of the Eskimo curlew is just one more pitiful tale of the slaughter of the innocents. It is a sad fact that the countless swarms of this fine bird and the passenger pigeon, which once swept across our land on migrations, are gone forever, sacrificed to the insatiable greed of man. “The Eskimo Curlew and its Disappearance,” by Prof. Myron H. Swenk (1915), tells the story; it is well worth reading, but space will permit only a few quotations from it. Edward H. Forbush (1912 and 1925) also gives a very good account of the tragedy. In some of the following paragraphs the reader will find many references to its former abundance and the extent of the slaughter which exterminated it. So we shall consider here only the period of its rapid decline and some of the causes which produced it.

Professor Swenk (1915) says of its disappearance in the West:

In Texas the Eskimo curlew came in immense flocks on the
prairies from 1856 to 1875, after which year the large
flocks disappeared. Small flocks were seen in 1886 and
1890. The last records of the species for Texas were 1902
and 1905, one and three individuals, respectively. The
species were first definitely recorded for Kansas from
Russell County in 1874. In that State these curlews were
abundant as late as 1878, but in 1879 their numbers were
much reduced and the birds decreased rapidly. There were
still a few in the Kansas markets in the early nineties.
The last record is for 1902. Eastwardly in the interior
the birds were always uncommon and disappeared early. The
last Michigan record is in 1883. The last Ohio record is in
1878. The last Wisconsin records are April 27, 1899, and
September 10, 1912, the latter specimen a male taken at Fox
Lake, Dodge County, Wis. The last Indiana record is, with
some doubt, April 19, 1890.

The last records of collected birds for Nebraska were made
in the spring of 1911 and of 1915. On March 22, 1911,
while Mr. Fred Geiger was shooting ducks near Waco, York
County, two of these birds came flying by within gun range,
and both were shot by him. The birds were identified by
an old-time hunter, and were then brought to Lincoln, and
mounted by Mr. August Eiche, in whose collection they
are at present. Although no Eskimo curlews were noted in
1914, a single bird was killed about 10 miles due south of
Norfolk, Nebr., on the morning of April 17, 1915. The bird
was alone when taken. It came into the possession of Mr.
Hoagland, who had it mounted by Allabaugh, a taxidermist of
Omaha, in whose shop I saw it in May.

But this was not the last word from Nebraska, for 11 years later Professor Swenk (1926) published the following encouraging note of a sight record:

In further substantiation of the undoubtable fact that the
Eskimo curlew is not yet extinct, I am now able to cite
a positive instance of its occurrence in Nebraska during
the present spring. On the morning of April 8, 1926,
Mr. A. M. Brooking, of Hastings, an ornithologist and
taxidermist who is very familiar with this species through
having spent much effort in assembling several specimens
of it for his extensive collection, while driving from the
village of Inland to Hastings along what is known as the
“north road,” saw a flock of eight birds alight in a newly
plowed field about 4 miles east of Hastings. He drove his
car up close to the birds, and when within 40 yards of
them was able to his astonishment to positively identify
them as unquestionably Eskimo curlews. Mr. Brooking knows
the species so well, and saw the birds so clearly, that
in my opinion this sight record can be accepted without
hesitation.

On the Labrador coast Eskimo curlews diminished rapidly in numbers between 1870 and 1880. Hon. F. C. Berteau, a government official in Labrador, in some notes published by W. J. Carroll (1910) says:

Up to 1889 dough-birds or Eskimo curlew were very numerous
in Labrador from late in August to the end of September.
They frequented the southern part of the coast only, never
appearing north of Indian Harbor at the northern entrance
to Hamilton Inlet. During the first 4 or 5 of the 10 years
during which I was collector of customs on Labrador, they
were very numerous, indeed, flying from the hills to the
shore and vice versa in flocks numbering from fifty to two
or three hundred. During the last years of my collectorship
they gradually diminished in numbers, until in 1890 or
thereabouts they entirely disappeared, and save for a few
seen on one or two occasions have never returned to the
coast.

The Hudson’s Bay Co. people at Cartwright annually put up
large numbers of hermetically sealed tins for the use of
the company’s officials in London and Montreal. I have seen
as many as 2,000 birds hung up in their store as the result
of one day’s shooting by some 25 or 30 guns. A fairly
accurate idea of the plentifulness of these birds will be
obtained from an account of my own experience. During the
season I used to leave the cruiser at 6 a. m. and return
at 9 for breakfast. I do not remember ever getting less
than 30 to 40 brace during the two hours or so that I was
shooting.

Dr. Henry B. Bigelow (1902), who visited the northeast coast of Labrador in 1900, heard of only about a dozen which were seen on the coast that fall, of which he saw five. Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1913) reported that seven were “shot and one other seen on the beach at West Bay, north of Cartwright, in August and September, 1912. The skins of five were saved, and sent to Cambridge, where they were seen and identified by Mr. William Brewster.”

Excessive shooting of this curlew on its migrations and in its winter home in South America was doubtless one of the chief causes of its destruction. Ernest Gibson (1920) saw “some 20 or 30 * * * in the vicinity of Linconia,” near Buenos Aires, on February 13, 1899; and a small flock was reported in the same locality on April 8, 1901. He evidently has seen none since then. Mr. Forbush (1925) has recently given us the latest news from Argentina in a letter from Dr. Roberto Dabbene, in which he writes that five or six were seen in the Province of Buenos Aires on February 7, 1924; one of these was captured and another solitary individual was taken at the same place on January 11, 1925; both of these specimens are in the Museo National de Historia Natural, at Buenos Aires. These and the other recent records may indicate that there are a few Eskimo curlews still living; but the species is reduced to such a low ebb that it is doomed to speedy extinction, if not already gone.

One need not look far to find the cause which led to its destruction. On its breeding grounds in the far north it was undisturbed by man. And I can not believe that it was overtaken by any great catastrophe at sea which could annihilate it; it was strong of wing and could escape from or avoid severe storms; it could, like all shore birds, swim if necessary; and its migration period was so extended that no one storm could wipe it out. Several other species of shore birds make similar, long ocean flights without apparent disaster. There is no evidence of disease or failure of food supply. No, there was only one cause, slaughter by human beings, slaughter in Labrador and New England in summer and fall, slaughter in South America in winter and slaughter, worst of all, from Texas to Canada in the spring. The gentle birds ran the gauntlet all along the line and no one lifted a finger to protect them until it was too late. They were so gentle, so confiding, so full of sympathy for their fallen companions, that in closely packed ranks they fell, easy victims of the carnage.

_Spring._--It was as a migrant only that we knew the Eskimo curlew. As to how it reached the United States from southern South America we know very little; but it probably followed the same route taken by its companion the golden plover. It arrived in Texas early in March and migrated northward through the prairie regions, mainly west of the Mississippi River, through central Canada and the Mackenzie region to the barren grounds on the Arctic coast. It was rare in spring east of this narrow belt, and practically unknown west of it. The flight through the United States was mainly accomplished during April and through Canada in May, arriving on its breeding grounds before the end of May.

Professor Swenk (1915) writes:

As to the abundance of these birds in Nebraska during the
early years of its statehood the observations of Prof.
Lawrence Bruner, who distinctly remembers the flights
which occurred in the vicinity of Omaha during the years
1866–1868, when he was a boy 10 or 12 years old, are
indicative. The birds would arrive about the time the
later willows began to bloom (latter April), being present
in force for a week or 10 days only, for by the time all
of the wild plum blossoms had fallen (middle May) the
birds were gone. Usually the heaviest flights occurred
coincident with the beginning of corn-planting time, and
enormous flocks of these birds would settle on the newly
plowed fields and on the dry burnt-off prairies, where they
searched industriously for insects. These flocks reminded
the settlers of the flights of passenger pigeons and the
curlews were given the name of “prairie pigeons.” They
contained thousands of individuals and would often form
dense masses of birds extending for a quarter to a half
mile in length and a hundred yards or more in width. When
the flock would alight the birds would cover 40 or 50 acres
of ground.

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) called this “the most abundant curlew in northern Alaska, especially along the coasts of Bering Sea and Kotzebue Sound.” At Saint Michael a number were seen passing north on May 12, 1878. He says that they were “always more numerous than _hudsonicus_, and sometimes flocks of 150 or more” were seen. But Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) looked for it in vain about Kotzebue Sound.

_Nesting._--For all that we know about the nesting habits of the Eskimo curlew, we are indebted to Roderick MacFarlane, who found this species breeding abundantly on the barren grounds east of Fort Anderson and up to the Arctic coast. He collected some 30 sets of eggs there between 1862 and 1866. He says in his notes that “this curlew never, in this quarter at least, breeds in wooded tracts, the barren grounds proper being the real habitat of the species during the season of nidification.” It is “very difficult to find the nests” as the birds “get off long before our approach, while the eggs nearly resemble the grass in color.” Some birds were seen to leave the nests. The nests are described as mere hollows in the ground, “lined with a few decayed leaves” and sometimes having “a thin sprinkling of hay.” The birds “generally ascend in the air in a straight line after getting off the nest.”

_Eggs._--The normal set was evidently four eggs, but MacFarlane sent home several sets of three. The eggs are rather pointed ovate in shape and have very little gloss. Many eggs closely resemble certain types of Franklin gull’s eggs. The ground colors vary from browns to olives, the latter predominating. The olive colors run from “buffy olive” or “citrine drab” to “olive buff,” and the brown colors from “light brownish olive” to “buckthorn brown.” Some eggs are boldly marked with heavy blotches, which are sometimes confluent about the larger end; more often they are irregularly spotted and blotched; and some eggs are sparingly marked. The markings are in dark browns, “bister,” “bone brown,” “buffy brown,” and blackish brown, with underlying spots and blotches of various shades of “brownish drab.” The measurements of 36 eggs average 51.3 by 35.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =54.5= by 36, 52 by =39.5=, =47.5= by 36, and 51 by =33= millimeters.

_Plumages._--There are not enough specimens of Eskimo curlews, collected during the proper seasons, to work out the molts and plumages satisfactorily. There are no specimens of downy young or very young juvenals available. Young birds in juvenal plumage, as seen on migration, are much like adults, but the feathers of the mantle, scapulars, tertials, and wing coverts are more broadly edged, but less conspicuously notched, with “pinkish buff”; and the under parts are less extensively covered with the dusky markings.

The postnuptial molt of adults is mainly accomplished after they have left us in the fall, beginning in September; the wings are probably molted after the birds have reached their winter home. There is a prenuptial molt of the body plumage, visible during the spring migration, the new feathers, being more pinkish buff, especially on the under parts.

_Food._--Professor Swenk (1915) says of its food habits in the west:

The Eskimo curlew was a bird of such food habits that it
is a distinct loss to our agriculture that it should have
disappeared. During the invasion of the Rocky Mountain
grasshopper (_Melanoplus spretus_) it did splendid work
in the destruction of grasshoppers and their eggs. Mr.
Wheeler states that in the latter seventies these birds
would congregate on pieces of land which had not been
plowed and where the grasshopper eggs were laid, reach down
into the soil with their long bills, and drag out the egg
capsules, which they would then devour with their contents
of eggs or young hoppers until the land had been cleared
of the pests. A specimen examined by Aughey in 1874 had 31
grasshoppers in its stomach, together with a large number
of small berries of some kind. The bird in its migrations
often alighted on plowed ground to feed on the white
grubs and cutworms turned up by the plow, or in meadow
lands, probably feeding on ants in the latter situation.
Richardson records finding them feeding on large ants at
Fort Franklin in late May, 1849. The curlews were rarely
seen near water, but were upland birds almost exclusively
during the spring migration over the Great Plains region.

Doctor Coues (1874) describes its food on the Labrador coast, as follows:

Their food consists almost entirely of the crowberry
(_Empetrum nigrum_), which grows on all the hillsides in
astonishing profusion. It is also called the “bearberry”
and “curlew berry.” It is a small berry, of a deep purple
color, almost black, growing upon a procumbent, running
kind of heath, the foliage of which has a peculiar
moss-like appearance. This is their principal and favorite
food and the whole intestine, the vent, the legs, the bill,
throat, and even the plumage, are more or less stained
with the deep purple juice. They are also very fond of a
species of small snail that adheres to the rock in immense
quantities, to procure which they frequent the land-washes
at low tide. Food being so abundant, and so easily
obtained, they become excessively fat. In this condition
they are most delicious eating, being tender, juicy, and
finely flavored; but, as might be expected, they prove a
very difficult job for the taxidermist.

_Behavior._--Lucien M. Turner gives, in his Ungava notes, a vivid description of a large flock of Eskimo curlews, which I quote, as follows:

I saw none until the morning of the 4th of September, 1884,
as we were passing out from the mouth of the Koksoak River.
Here an immense flock of several hundred individuals were
making their way to the south. They flew in that peculiar
manner which distinguishes the curlews from all other birds
in flight, a sort of wedge shape, the sides of which were
constantly swaying back and forth like a cloud of smoke
wafted by the lightest zephyr. The aerial evolutions of
the curlews when migrating are, perhaps, one of the most
wonderful in the flight of birds. Long, dangling lines,
either perpendicular or horizontal, the lower parts of
which whirl, rise, or twist spirally, while the apex of
the flock is seemingly at rest. At other times the leader
plunges downward successively followed by the remainder
in most graceful undulations, becoming a dense mass then
separating into a thin sheet spread wide; again reforming
into such a variety of positions that no description would
suffice.

Mr. Mackay (1892_c_) says:

Of those I have observed in New England during a series
of years I may say that most of their habits closely
resemble those of the golden plover. In migration they fly
in much the same manner, with extended and broadside and
triangular lines and clusters similar to those of ducks and
geese at such times. They usually fly low after landing,
sweeping slowly over the ground, apparently looking it
over, generally standing motionless for quite a little
while after alighting, which, owing to their general color
approximating so closely to the withered grass, renders it
difficult at times to perceive them. I have had a flock of
50 or 60 alight within 30 yards of me, and have been unable
to make out more than two or three birds. If disturbed
they will frequently alight again at no great distance,
if not previously harassed, and under the same conditions
they can be approached at all times, for they are either
very tame or very shy. They seek out and are found in the
same localities selected by the golden plover with which
they generally associate if any are in the vicinity, there
always being a strong friendship between them. They are not
so active as the plover; on the ground they appear less
inclined to move about, especially after landing and during
rainy weather when I have at times noticed them standing on
the ground quite close together, every bird headed to the
wind, with heads and necks drawn down and resting on their
backs, with the rain running off their tails. At such times
they could be approached on foot to within half a gunshot,
showing little fear.

Doctor Coues (1874) writes:

The curlews associate in flocks of every size, from three
to as many thousand, but they generally fly in so loose
and straggling a manner that it is rare to kill more than
half a dozen at a shot. When they wheel, however, in any of
their many beautiful evolutions, they close together in a
more compact body, and offer a more favorable opportunity
to the gunner. Their flight is firm, direct, very swift,
when necessary much protracted, and is performed with
regular, rapid beats. They never sail, except when about
to alight, when the wings are much incurved downward, in
the manner of most waders. As their feet touch the ground,
their long, pointed wings are raised over the back, until
the tips almost touch, and then deliberately folded, much
in the manner of the solitary sandpiper (_Rhyacophilus
solitarius_).

_Voice._--Professor Swenk (1915) describes the notes as follows:

The Eskimo curlew had several notes. During flight they
uttered a fluttering _tr-tr-tr_ note, which was given by
many individuals at once, and described by Coues as a “low
conversational chatter” and by Mackay as “a soft, melodious
whistle, ‘_bee, bee_.’” Mr. W. A. Elwood describes this
note as “a short, low whistle” continually repeated by
many of the birds simultaneously while in flight. Mr. A.
J. Leach recalls the notes as resembling quite closely the
note of the bluebird when in flight, only perhaps shorter
and more of a twittering whistle, and, as it was given by a
large number, perhaps all, of the flock as they took wing
and while flying, it was difficult to catch the individual
note. This note was constantly uttered while the birds were
flying and was often audible before the birds could be
seen. Before alighting, as they descended and sailed, they
gave a soft whistle, somewhat like the note of the upland
plover, according to Professor Bruner, while as they walked
over the ground when feeding they uttered a chirruping
whistle, as if calling to each other.

_Fall._--The adult birds must have started off their breeding grounds early in July for the first arrivals reached the coast of Labrador by the end of that month. Their course at first was east-southeast, or perhaps nearly due east, across Hudson Bay to the Labrador Peninsula, where they lingered for a week or two to feast and fatten on the abundant harvest of berries. Turner saw them as far north as the mouth of the Koksoak River, and says in his notes:

From the 10th to the 20th of August immense flocks of these
birds appear on the level tracts from Davis’ Inlet to the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, each day adding to their number until
the ground seems alive with them. They feed on the ripening
berries of _Empetrum_ and _Vaccinium_, becoming wonderfully
fat in a few days. By the 8th of September it is asserted
that none remain.

Audubon (1840) writes:

On the 29th of July, 1833, during a thick fog, the
Esquimaux curlews made their first appearance in Labrador,
near the harbor of Bras d’Or. They evidently came from the
north, and arrived in such dense flocks as to remind me of
the passenger pigeons. The weather was extremely cold as
well as foggy. For more than a week we had been looking
for them, as was every fisherman in the harbor, these
birds being considered there, as indeed they are, great
delicacies. The birds at length came, flock after flock,
passed close round our vessel, and directed their course
toward the sterile mountainous tracts in the neighborhood;
and as soon as the sun’s rays had dispersed the fogs that
hung over the land, our whole party went off in search of
them.

I was not long in discovering that their stay on this
coast was occasioned solely by the density of the mists
and the heavy gales that already gave intimation of the
approaching close of the summer; for whenever the weather
cleared up a little, thousands of them set off and steered
in a straight course across the broad Gulf of St. Lawrence.
On the contrary, when the wind was high, and the fogs
thick, they flew swiftly and low over the rocky surface of
the country, as if bewildered. Wherever there was a spot
that seemed likely to afford a supply of food, there the
curlews abounded, and were easily approached. By the 12th
of August, however, they had all left the country.

The eastward flight reached as far as Newfoundland, where they were fairly numerous along the eastern and southeastern shores. There was also a migration, probably down the west coast of Hudson Bay, which reached the Atlantic coast through Ontario and the Great Lakes region. But the main flight was through Labrador, across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia and then due south across the ocean to the Lesser Antilles and South America; their course in South America is not well known, but it was probably across eastern Brazil, to Uruguay, Argentina, and Patagonia, where they arrived in September.

In fair weather the 2,000-mile trip across the ocean was probably made in one continuous flight, though I believe that these birds were able to alight on and rise from the water if necessary. But if bad weather, severe southeasterly storms, thick fogs, or heavy rains occurred during their passage, they were forced to land, sometimes in enormous numbers on the coast of New England, less often on the shores farther south, or on the Bermudas; if severe westerly gales occurred they were sometimes driven far out to sea or even across the Atlantic to the British Isles. Our flights in Massachusetts could be looked for during the latter half of August and through September. On Cape Cod they used to frequent much the same localities as the golden plover, old fields and pastures, often several miles from the shore, and the drier portions of the salt marshes, where they found an abundance of grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects; on Monomoy they were often found on the low sand hills which were largely covered with gray mosses or lichens. Mr. Mackay (1892_c_) writes:

Those which do visit us almost invariably land with their
boon companions, the American golden plover, of whose
flocks I have frequently noticed they were the leaders,
and I can scarcely call to mind, as I write, an instance
where any number of Eskimo curlew have landed without there
being more or less golden plover present at the same time.
Those birds which may come can not, if they would, remain
any longer than is absolutely necessary, for they are so
harassed immediately after landing that the moment there
occurs a change in the weather favorable for migration they
at once depart. They appear to leave the coast at Long
Island, N. Y., and strike farther out to sea, and then are
not seen on the Atlantic coast for another year.

_Game._--The gunner’s name for the Eskimo curlew was “dough-bird,” not “doe-bird,” for it was so fat when it reached us in the fall that its breast would often burst open when it fell to the ground, and the thick layer of fat was so soft that it felt like a ball of dough. It is no wonder that it was so popular as a game bird, for it must have made a delicious morsel for the table. It was so tame and unsuspicious and it flew in such dense flocks that it was easily killed in large numbers. On the Labrador coasts and in Newfoundland the inhabitants killed all they could and preserved them for winter use, according to Mr. Berteau (Carroll, 1910), “by parboiling them and packing them in tins and jars and covering them with melted butter or lard.” Coues (1874) tells of shooting them in Labrador, as follows:

Although the curlews were in such vast numbers, I did not
find them so tame as might be expected and as I had been
led to suppose by previous representations. I was never
able to walk openly within shooting distance of a flock,
though I was told it was often done. The most successful
method of obtaining them is to take such a position as they
will probably fly over in passing from one feeding ground
to another. They may then be shot with ease, as they rarely
fly high at such times. The pertinacity with which they
cling to certain feeding grounds, even when much molested,
I saw strikingly illustrated on one occasion. The tide
was rising and about to flood a muddy flat, of perhaps an
acre in extent, where their favorite snails were in great
quantities. Although six or eight gunners were stationed
upon the spot, and kept up a continual round of firing
upon the poor birds, they continued to fly distractedly
about over our heads, notwithstanding the numbers that
every moment fell. They seemed in terror lest they should
lose their accustomed fare of snails that day. On another
occasion, when the birds had been so harassed for several
hours as to deprive them of all opportunity of feeding,
great numbers of them retired to a very small island, or
rather a large pile of rocks, a few hundred yards from the
shore, covered with seaweed and, of course, with snails.
Flock after flock alighted on it, till it was completely
covered with the birds, which there, in perfect safety,
obtained their morning meal.

I can remember hearing my father tell of the great shooting they used to have on “the plains” at Cohasset when I was a small boy, about 1870. As he has now gone to the happy hunting grounds I can not give the exact figures, but he saw a wagon loaded full of “dough birds” shot on the plains in one day.

The greatest killings were made on the western plains during the spring migration, which Professor Swenk (1915) describes as follows:

During such flights the slaughter of these poor birds was
appalling and almost unbelievable. Hunters would drive out
from Omaha and shoot the birds without mercy until they
had literally slaughtered a wagonload of them, the wagons
being actually filled, and often with the sideboards on
at that. Sometimes when the flight was unusually heavy
and the hunters were well supplied with ammunition their
wagons were too quickly and easily filled, so whole loads
of the birds would be dumped on the prairie, their bodies
forming piles as large as a couple of tons of coal, where
they would be allowed to rot while the hunters proceeded to
refill their wagons with fresh victims, and thus further
gratify their lust of killing. The compact flocks and
tameness of the birds made this slaughter possible, and at
each shot usually dozens of the birds would fall. In one
specific instance a single shot from an old muzzle-loading
shotgun into a flock of these curlews as they veered by the
hunter brought down 28 birds at once, while for the next
half mile every now and then a fatally wounded bird would
drop to the ground dead. So dense were the flocks when the
birds were turning in their flight that one could scarcely
throw a brick or missile into it without striking a bird.

In hunting these curlew the field glass was used by the
hunters to follow their flights. The fields where they were
prone to gather were patroled many times during the day and
carefully scanned with the glass to discover the flocks on
the ground. When the birds came in they would be up quite
high, perhaps from 200 or 300 yards to a quarter of a mile,
and in preparing to alight they would turn and wheel,
towering in the air while they whistled softly, would hover
a while, and then all drop and come down, flying along over
the ground for a short distance before alighting. The birds
would always alight all at once and very close together,
and if the day were warm they would sit down very close
together on the ground, forming bunches, when they could
be readily discovered with the field glass and approached
close enough to get a shot.

There was no difficulty in getting quite close to the
sitting birds, perhaps within 25 or 35 yards, and when at
about this distance the hunters would wait for them to
arise on their feet, which was the signal for the first
volley of shots. The startled birds would rise and circle
about the field a few times, affording ample opportunity
for further murderous discharge of the guns, and sometimes
would realight on the same field, when the attack would be
repeated. Mr. Wheeler has killed as many as 37 birds with a
pump gun at one rise. They weighed just about 1 pound each
when they were fat. Sometimes the bunch would be seen with
the glass alighting in a field 2 or 3 miles away, when the
hunters would at once drive to that field with a horse and
buggy as rapidly as they could, relocate the birds, get
out, and resume the fusillade and slaughter. On rainy days
the birds would fly restlessly from one field to another,
moving about in this way most of the day and seeming
unusually plentiful because of being so much in the air.

_Winter._--There is little known about the winter habits of the Eskimo curlew except that it formerly associated with the golden plover, the upland plover, and the buff-breasted sandpiper on the pampas of Argentina and Patagonia, where it is now but a memory of the past.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and South America, accidental in eastern Asia and Great Britain.

The Eskimo curlew is now nearly or quite extinct. Although formerly abundant, its occurrence in both North and South America has been so frequently confused with _Numenius hudsonicus_, that it is extremely difficult to establish its migration range. Like the golden plover, however, this species followed an elliptical route, usually passing south in the fall off the coast of the United States, the point of departure from the mainland being the coast of Labrador, Nova Scotia, or (more rarely) Long Island, New York. In spring the return trip was made up the Mississippi Valley and the prairie States at which season it was practically unknown on the Atlantic coast.

_Breeding range._--The only known nests and eggs of the Eskimo curlew have been obtained in northwestern Canada, Fort Anderson, Rendezvous Lake, Franklin Bay, and Point Lake.

_Winter range._--The northern limits of the winter range are not known, but probably extended rarely to Brazil (Ypanema). South to Uruguay (Montevideo); Argentina (Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion, and the Chupat Valley); and Chile (Island of Chiloe, and Paposo). It also has been detected on the Falkland Islands (Abbott, 1861).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival in North America are: Texas, Gainesville, March 7, and Boerne, March 9; Arkansas, Fayetteville, March 31; Missouri, St. Louis, April 10, and Vernon County, April 16; Kansas, Emporia, April 13; Nebraska, Alda, April 2; Iowa, Burlington, April 5, and Grinnell, April 10; South Dakota, Brown County, April 16, and Mackenzie, Fort Resolution, May 26, and Fort Anderson, May 27.

A specimen of this species was taken at San Geronimo, Guatemala, in April; and one at Lake Palomas, Chihuahua, April 8, 1892. A specimen was taken at Chalmers, Ind., on April 19, 1890. In Massachusetts one was obtained at Cape Cod in May, 1873, and about 50 were reported near the mouth of the Rowley River, May 17, 1916. Spring arrivals also have been noted in Alaska, St. Michael, May 12, 1878, and Cape Lisbourne, May 25, 1886.

Late dates of spring departure are: Argentina, Concepcion, March 1; Texas, Long Point, April 23, and Fort Stockton, May 4; Missouri, Jasper County, May 1; Kansas, Lawrence, May 6; and South Dakota, Vermilion, May 3, and Harrison, May 10.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Quebec, Bras d’Or, July 29, Caribou Island, August 12, and Indian Tickle, August 16; Massachusetts, Nantucket, August 18, and Edgartown, August 21; West Indies, Barbados, August 27, Carriacou, September 5, and Grenada, September 22; Brazil, Amazon River, September 4; and Argentina, Concepcion, September 9.