. . of his tribe, andseems to reign supreme in the territory over which heranges. The Curlew has retreated since the settlement ofthe middle and western United States, as not many yearsago it was of regular occurrence from the Atlantic to thePacific, while it is now rare east of the Mississippi. Vaststretches of uncultivated lands of the West still affordthe curlew suitable feeding and breeding grounds, so theystill abound in the prairies of Nebraska, Colorado, andMontana. During my trip up the Yellowstone River, in1906, I found this
. . of his tribe, andseems to reign supreme in the territory over which heranges. The Curlew has retreated since the settlement ofthe middle and western United States, as not many yearsago it was of regular occurrence from the Atlantic to thePacific, while it is now rare east of the Mississippi. Vaststretches of uncultivated lands of the West still affordthe curlew suitable feeding and breeding grounds, so theystill abound in the prairies of Nebraska, Colorado, andMontana. During my trip up the Yellowstone River, in1906, I found this bird far out on the prairies, in companywith upland plover and the sage hen. During the heat ofthe day the birds appear in pairs about small alkali pools,where the remarkably long bill is perfectly adapted forremoving crawfish from their holes. I watched a pair through my field glasses as they werefeeding about a pond. Presently they flew to the distanthills. Long had I wished to locate a curlews nest. Thefemale had undoubtedly returned to her eggs. Distance. SHORE BIRDS 141 in the Western country is deceptive, so I walked fully twomiles before raising the suspicion of the male. He circledabout, coming within three feet of my face and suddenlydarting upward. I scanned every foot of ground, andfound, after two hours search, that the wary male had ledme five hundred yards away. I retraced my steps to thespot where he first attacked me. He became frantic in hisefforts to again mislead me, but I continued straight aheadand presently he was running about the ground in front ofme. I dropped my hat, to mark the spot, even if the vegeta-tion was too scant for concealment. Finally I saw the femalelying perfectly flat with neck and bill on the ground. Shewas completely surrounded by prickly pears, and so, safefrom prowling animals and reptiles. I advanced, when shearose, shook herself, and ran rapidly away. The male wascalling so noisily that seven other curlews joined in theattack. The
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
