. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England states. Birds; Birds. CURLEWS 453 A Spotted Sandpiper has been seen to catch crickets and immerse them in water be- fore eating In the Condor for July, 1913 (p. 173), Mr. L. E. Wyman notes that he once found a Spotted Sandpiper with a mussel (the ordinary edible kind) clinched to its foot. "The bird could hardly fly," he says, "and tried to escape me by crawling into the beach grass where I caught it. The middle toe was almost severed and hanging by a thread, so I cut it off and let the bird go, minus a toe, but evidently hap
. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England states. Birds; Birds. CURLEWS 453 A Spotted Sandpiper has been seen to catch crickets and immerse them in water be- fore eating In the Condor for July, 1913 (p. 173), Mr. L. E. Wyman notes that he once found a Spotted Sandpiper with a mussel (the ordinary edible kind) clinched to its foot. "The bird could hardly fly," he says, "and tried to escape me by crawling into the beach grass where I caught it. The middle toe was almost severed and hanging by a thread, so I cut it off and let the bird go, minus a toe, but evidently happy to be rid of the burden that must have given it great ; Grinnell, Bryant and Storer in "The Game Birds of California," tell of three birds of this species that had lost parts of their legs or feet in some such way. Economic Status. Spotted Sandpipers often frequent cultivated fields at some dis- tance from water, and as they feed largely on locusts, grasshoppers and caterpillars, such as cutworms, cabbage worms and army worms, also beetles, grubs and other pests of cultivated lands, the birds should be preserved for the good work that they do among the crops. Numenius americanus Bechstein. Long-billed Curlew. Other names: sickle-bill; old hen curlew; big curlew. Plate 29. Description. — Bill exceedingly long, slender, and downcurved; tarsus long; front toes webbed toward base, web between outer and middle toes larger than that between middle and inner. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike): Similar to that of Marbled Godwit (see page 427); reddish or cinna- mon in tone, varying in intensity in different individuals; top of head quite dark, with no distinct light. AxiLLARS AND FlRST PRIMARY OF LONG-BILLED CURLEW. (After Cory.) middle line, such as is found in Hudsonian Curlew; general color light pinkish-cinnamon (much paler on chin and throat), curiously marked above with streaks, spots and bars of dusky grayish-brown or blackish-brown; secondaries,
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