A Synopsis of the Birds of North AmericaAudubon, John James
Science
A Synopsis of the Birds of North America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- Classification; Birds -- North America
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.
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