Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/587

CURIUS DENTATUS CURLEW 583 Pompey, lie fled to Caesar at Ravenna, and urged him to march upon Rome. He returned to the senate with a message from Caesar, but again fled in the night with Antony and Q. Cassius, collected the troops stationed in Um- bria and Etruria, and led them to Caesar, who made him propraetor of Sicily in 49. Here he crushed the party of Pompey, and drove away Cato ; then crossing into Africa, he fought, at first successfully, against Juba and the Pom- peian general P. Attius Varus; but he lost largely by desertion, and besieging Utica he was attacked by Juba and killed in the ensuing battle, when his army was annihilated. He was a man of boldness and of great natural talents, especially as an orator, but unscrupu- lous and profligate to the last degree. PRIUS DENTATUS. See DENTATUS. CURLEW, a bird of the order grallatores, family scolopacidm, subfamily limosin (which includes both curlews and godwits), and genus numenius (Linn.). The bill is long, slender, curved from the base, with sides compressed and grooved; the upper mandible projecting over the lower, and obtuse; wings long and pointed, the first quill the longest; tail short and even ; tarsi long and slender ; toes mode- rate, lateral ones unequal and united at their bases ; hind toe long, slender, and partly rest- ing on the ground; claws short and dull. There are nearly 20 species described, scattered over the temperate regions of the world in winter, and going north in summer ; they fre- quent the borders of the sea, and muddy and sandy shores, sometimes visiting moors and marshy plains, in search of worms, larvae, crus- tacea, and mollusks, which they extract from the moist ground, often from under water, with their long bills; they also eat berries from the fields and woodlands. The nests are formed on the ground in holes, lined with Long-billed Curlew (Numenius longirostris). grass, and the eggs are generally four in num- ber. The long-billed curlew, or sickle-bill (-ZV. longirostris, Wils.), is the largest American species, and may readily be distinguished from all others by the length of the bill, which is from 7 to 9 in. ; the total length to end of claws is 29 in., the extent of wings 40 in., and the weight about If Ib. The general . color of the plumage is pale reddish brown, the head and neck streaked with dusky ; the upper part of the throat, and a band from the bill to the eye, light butt'; above marked with blackish brown, tail barred with the same; abdomen plain yellowish red; feet bluish. Though found in the north, it is most abundant at the south, where it resides all the year and breeds ; it feeds during the day in the marshes, retiring to the shores in large flocks at night ; the favor- ite food is small fiddler crabs. They are easily shot, though rather tenacious of life, frequent- ing the same resting place for some time ; they readily answer the fowler's call. The flesh is tough and fishy, and decidedly inferior to the smaller species. They are occasionally seen as far north as Boston. The Esquimaux cur- lew, sometimes called dough bird (N. borealis. Esquimaux Curlew (Numenius borealis). Lath.), has a bill about 2J in. long, and tarsi If in. ; the length to end of claws about 17 in., extent of wings 28 in. ; weight Ib. The up- per plumage is dusky brown, marked with nu- merous spots of light brownish yellow ; a line of white from the bill to the eye ; upper part of head brownish black, with streaks and a median line of grayish or yellowish white ; throat white ; neck and breast yellowish gray, with longitudinal marks and spots of dusky ; abdomen dull yellowish white; flanks with brown bars; tail and its upper coverts pale grayish brown, with deep brown bars, and brownish white tip; primaries dark brown, first shaft white with dusky tip. The females very closely resemble the males. In the New England and middle states this bird arrives from the north in the latter part of August, re- maining through October, when it moves off to the south in flocks, going north again to breed in the spring. In Labrador its favorite food is the curlew berry, a small black fruit growing on a creeping shrub an inch or two