curlew n OED ~ 3 (1766 quot), DAE 2 (1813, 1839) for sense 1; Cent curlewberry (Labr: 1890) for comb in sense 2.
   1 Either of two birds of the genus Numenius: (a) Hudsonian whimbrel (N. phaeopus hudsonicus); (b) Eskimo curlew (N. borealis); also in Labr place-names.
   1623 Short Discourse [sig. B3] [1766] 1971 BANKS 130 But particularly at this season with a Bird of Passage Calld here a Curlew from the Great Likeness to the smaller sort of that Bird found in England. [1770] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 23 I sent Ned and Charles to South Head where they killed a brace of curlews and three grouse. 1774 Trans Roy Soc lxiv, 377 In the autumn, there come a prodigious quantity of birds, which are called curlews. They are about the size of a wood-cock, shaped like them, and nearly of the same colour; extremely fat, and most delicious eating. 1951 PETERS & BURLEIGH 182-3 Hudsonian Whimbrel. Local name: Curlew... The Hudsonian Whimbrel is the only species of curlew which frequents Newfoundland, since the smaller Eskimo Curlew is now only a memory. Ibid 183-4 Eskimo Curlew. Local name: Curlew ... The Eskimo curlew was formerly one of the most abundant birds in North America. 'It was said to have visited Newfoundland in autumn in millions that darkened the sky.' 1953 Nfld & Lab Pilot ii, 439 Curlew harbour is entered between Curlew head ... and a point about three-quarters of a mile south-westward... Curlew island ... is situated close westward.
   2 Proverb no curlew, no herring.
   1909 BROWNE 201 It is rather surprising to find Sportsmen who contend that the curlew feeds on fish; and they allege as proof of their contention the Labrador adage, 'No curlew, no herring.'
   3 Comb curlew berry: black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum); BLACKBERRY (1891 PACKARD 63).
   1918 TOWNSEND 23 On this day, August 3, the Eskimo curlew, now almost extinct, appeared from the north. This species here takes the place of the Migratory Pigeon (alas, now entirely extinct)... They fly in compact bodies ... covering a great extent of country ere they make choice of a spot on which to alight; this is done where-ever a certain berry called the 'Curlew berry' proves to be abundant. 1941 WITHINGTON 139 The country produced various berries—huckleberries, curlew, and bear berries, but the one peculiar to Labrador was the 'bake-apple,' a fruit growing above a stalk of crumpled green leavs. 1951 PETERS & BURLEIGH 185 In Newfoundland [the Eskimo curlew] fed mainly upon crowberry ... which is sometimes called 'curlew berry.'
   curlew net: device used to enmesh the Eskimo curlew when flocking.
   [1771] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 179 I was making a curlew net.

Go Back