Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CUR'LEW, n. [Fr. courlis or corlieu.]

1. An aquatic fowl of the genus Scolopax and the grallic order. It has a long bill; its color is diversified with ash and black; and the largest species spread more than three feet of wing. It frequents the sea shore in winter, and in summer retires to the mountains.
2. A fowl, larger than a partridge, with longer legs, which frequents the corn-fields in Spain. Trevoux.