AN ESSEX CURLEW SANDPIPER.
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estuaries. Noteworthy, also, is the fact that the Curlew Sandpiper
has been obtained in England, in full winter plumage, only in rare
and isolated instances. September is the month in which we most
frequently meet with the species, and though I have seen some
beautiful red birds killed on the coasts of Sussex and Kent, the great
majority of those observed are in the plumage of the first autumn.
The autumn of 1887 witnessed to the arrival of unusual numbers of
Curlew Sandpipers on the east coast of Britain—from the Firth or
Forth to the Kentish estuaries—in which I happened, myself, to
observe the species. During the last week of August that year a
friend of mine, whose name I am not at liberty to print, met with
exceptional numbers of Curlew Sandpipers on an Essex estuary.
My friend is an experienced wildfowler and good naturalist, who has
shot for many years at Poole, Exmouth and other well-known
localities; but, prior to 1887, he had never met with the Curlew
Sandpiper in numbers similar to those that he found that year.1
Happening to pinion a Curlew Sandpiper, when taking a long shot
at a large flock of these birds, he kindly saved it alive and in due
course brought it up to town. When received by me it appeared to
be suffering from cramp in the right foot. It was in good condition
otherwise, and soon evinced a keen appetite for bread and milk. He
fed readily in my presence, and it was amusing to watch the little
fellow boring into the bread and milk with his long bill, scattering
fragments on every side. During daylight the bird was quiet and
showed little or no anxiety to regain its freedom, but at night it was
otherwise. In the hours of darkness he evinced great restlessness,
and seemed to be affected by migratory fever. Fresh water was
always acceptable. He drank eagerly, and bathed also with manifest
pleasure, occasionally preening his plumage. His usual attitude was
passive, the back being arched, and the head drawn back between
the shoulders. I never detected him asleep, nor did he seem to care
to balance himself on one leg, after the usual fashion of many waders.
When released on a window-sill, he uttered a low cry of pleasure, but
at other times he remained silent. Being released upon the floor, he
tripped nimbly over the carpet, rapidly traversing the length of a
large room, and investigating every nook and cranny with a profes-
1 The Curlew Sandpiper has been exceptionally abundant on the east coast of England during
the autumn of 1890, as I learn from Messrs. Bidwell, Aplin, and C. A. Hamond. Mr. Hamond
writes : "There have been a great number of Pigmy Curlews on the Norfolk coast this year. At
the end of August they were more numerous than Stint at Blakeney. I saw a late one killed on
Oct. r4th." Curiously enough, the species has been particularly scarce this year on the N, W.
coasts of England.