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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "chunk_id": "1911:curio:7546deeab3c2",
    "title": "CURIO",
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    "verified_text": "curio, gaius scribonius, roman statesman and orator, son of a distinguished orator of the same name, flourished during the 1st century b.c. he was tribune of the people in 90 b.c., and afterwards served in sulla's army in greece against archelaus, general of mithradates, and as his legate in asia, where he was commissioned to restore order in the kingdoms abandoned by mithradates. in 76 he was consul, and as governor of macedonia carried on war successfully against the thracians and dardanians, and was the first roman general who penetrated as far as the danube. on his return he was granted the honour of a triumph. during the discussion as to the punishment of the catilinarian conspirators he supported cicero, but he spoke in favour of p. clodius (q.v.) when the latter was being tried for the bona dea affair. this led to a violent attack on the part of cicero, but it does not appear to have interfered with their friendship. curio was a vehement opponent of caesar, against whom he wrote a political pamphlet in the form of a dialogue. he was pontifex maximus in 57, and died in 53. his reputation as an orator was considerable, but according to cicero he was very illiterate, and his only qualifications were brilliancy of style and the purity of his latin. he was nicknamed burbuleius (after an actor) from the way in which he moved his body while speaking. orelli, _onomasticon_ to cicero; florus iii. 4; eutropius vi. 2; val. max. ix. 14, 5; quintilian, _instit._, vi. 3, 76; dio cassius xxxviii. 16. his son, gaius scribonius curio, was first a supporter of pompey, but after his tribuneship (50 b.c.) went over to caesar, by whom he was said to have been bribed. but, while breaking off relations with pompey, curio desired to keep up the appearance of impartiality. when it was demanded that caesar should lay down his imperium before entering rome, curio proposed that pompey should do the same, adding that, if the rivals refused to do so, they ought both to be declared public enemies. his proposal was carried by a large majority, but a report having spread that caesar was on the way to attack rome, the consuls called upon pompey to undertake the command of all the troops stationed in italy. curio's appeal to the people to prevent the levying of an army by pompey was disregarded; whereupon, feeling himself in danger, he fled to ravenna to caesar. he was commissioned by caesar, who was still unwilling to proceed to extremities, to take a message to the senate. but curio's reception was so hostile that he hurriedly returned during the night to caesar. it was now obvious that civil war would break out. curio collected troops in umbria and etruria for caesar, who sent him to sicily as propraetor in 49. after having fought with considerable success there against the pompeians, curio crossed over to africa, where he was defeated and slain by juba, king of numidia. curio, although a man of profligate character, possessed conspicuous ability, and was a distinguished orator. in spite of his faults, cicero, as an old friend of his father, took a great interest in him and did his utmost to reform him. seven of cicero's letters (_ad. fam._ ii. 1-7) are addressed to him. there can be no doubt that curio's behaviour in regard to the laying down of the imperium by caesar and pompey in great measure contributed to the outbreak of civil war. the first amphitheatre in rome was erected by him (50), for the celebration of the funeral games in honour of his father. orelli, _onomasticon_ to cicero; livy, _epit._ 109, 110; caesar, _bell. civ._, ii. 23, for curio's african campaign; appian, _bell. civ._, ii. 26-44; vell. pat. ii. 48. curityba (also corityba and curitiba), capital of the state of parana, brazil, situated on an elevated plateau (2916 ft. above sea-level) 68 m. w. of its seaport paranagua, with which it is connected by a railway remarkable for the engineering difficulties overcome and for the beautiful scenery through which it passes. pop. (1890) 22,694; of the municipality, 24,553. there is a large foreign element in the population, the germans preponderating. the city has a temperate, healthy climate, and is surrounded by a charming _campo_ country, which, however, is less fertile than the forested river valleys. mate is the principal export. curlew (fr. _courlis_ or _corlieu_), a name given to two birds, of whose cry it is an imitation, both belonging to the group _limicolae_, but possessing very different habits and features. 1. the long-billed curlew, or simply curlew of most british writers, the _numenius arquata_ of ornithologists, is one of the largest of the family _scolopacidae_, or snipes and allied forms. it is common on the shores of the united kingdom and most parts of europe, seeking the heaths and moors of the interior and more northern countries in the breeding-season, where it lays its four brownish-green eggs, suffused with cinnamon markings, in an artless nest on the ground. in england it has been ascertained to breed in cornwall and in the counties of devon, dorset, salop, and derby--though sparingly. in yorkshire it is more numerous, and thence to the extreme north of scotland, as well as throughout ireland, it is, under the name of whaup, familiar to those who have occasion to traverse the wild and desolate tracts that best suit its habits. so soon as the young are able to shift for themselves, both they and their parents resort to the sea-shore or mouths of rivers, from the muddy flats of which they at low tide obtain their living, and, though almost beyond any other birds wary of approach, form an object of pursuit to numerous gunners. while leading this littoral life the food of the curlew seems to consist of almost anything edible that presents itself. it industriously probes the mud or sand in quest of the worms that lurk therein, and is also active in seeking for such crustaceans and molluscs as can be picked up on the surface, while vegetable matter as well has been found in its stomach. during its summer-sojourn on the moorlands insects and berries, when they are ripe, enter largely into its diet. in bulk the curlew is not less than a crow, but it looks larger still from its long legs, wings and neck. its bill, from 5 to 7 in. in length, and terminating in the delicate nervous apparatus common to all birds of its family, is especially its most remarkable feature. its plumage above is of a drab colour, streaked and mottled with very dark brown; beneath it is white, while the flight-quills are of a brownish black. nearly allied to the curlew, but smaller and with a more northern range, is the whimbrel (_n. phaeopus_), called in some parts jack-curlew, from its small size; may-fowl, from the month in which it usually arrives; and titterel, from one of its cries.[1] this so much resembles the former in habit and appearance that no further details need be given of it. in the countries bordering on the mediterranean occurs a third species (_n. tenuirostris_). some fifteen other species, or more, have been described, but it is probable that this number is too great. the genus _numenius_ is almost cosmopolitan. in north america three very easily recognized species are found--the first (_n. longirostris_) closely agreeing with the european curlew, but larger and with a longer bill; the second (_n. hudsonicus_) representing the british whimbrel; and the third (_n. borealis_), which has several times found its way to britain, very much less in size--indeed the smallest of the genus. all these essentially agree with the species of the old world in habit; but it is remarkable that the american birds can be easily distinguished by the rufous colouring of their axillary feathers--a feature which is also presented by the american godwits (_limosa_). 2. the curlew of inlanders, or stone-curlew--called also, by some writers, from its stronghold in england, the norfolk plover, and sometimes the thick-knee--is usually classed among the _charadriidae_, but it offers several remarkable differences from the more normal plovers. it is the _charadrius oedicnemus_ of linnaeus, the _c. scolopax_ of sam. gottl. gmelin, and the _oedicnemus crepitans_ of k. j. temminck. with much the same cry as that of the _numenii_, only uttered in a far sweeter tone, it is as fully entitled to the name of curlew as the bird most commonly so called. in england it is almost solely a summer visitor, though an example will occasionally linger throughout a mild winter; and is one of the few birds whose distribution is affected by geological formation, since it is nearly limited to the chalk-country--the open spaces of which it haunts, and its numbers have of late years been sensibly diminished by their inclosure. the most barren spots in these districts, even where but a superficial coating of light sand and a thin growth of turf scarcely hide the chalk below, supply its needs; though at night (and it chiefly feeds by night) it resorts to moister and more fertile places. its food consists of snails, coleopterous insects, and earth-worms, but larger prey, as a mouse or a frog, is not rejected. without making the slightest attempt at a nest, it lays its two eggs on a level spot, a bare fallow being often chosen. these are not very large, and in colour so closely resemble the sandy, flint-strewn surface that their detection except by a practised eye is difficult. the bird, too, trusts much to its own drab colouring to elude observation, and, on being disturbed, will frequently run for a considerable distance and then squat with outstretched neck so as to become almost invisible. in such a case it may be closely approached, and its large golden eye, if it do not pass for a tuft of yellow lichen, is perhaps the first thing that strikes the searcher. as autumn advances the stone-curlew gathers in large flocks, and then is as wary as its namesake. towards october these take their departure, and their survivors return, often with wonderful constancy, to their beloved haunts. in size this species exceeds any other european plover, and looks even still larger than it is. the bill is short, blunt, and stout; the head large, broad, and flat at the top; the wings and legs long--the latter presenting the peculiarity of a singular enlargement of the upper part of the tarsus, whence the names _oedicnemus_ and thick-knee have been conferred. the toes are short and fleshy, and the hind-toe is wanting. this bird seems to have been an especial favourite with gilbert white, in whose classical writings mention of it is often made. its range extends to north africa and india. five other species of _oedicnemus_ from africa have also been described as distinct. australia possesses a very distinct species (_o. grallarius_), and the genus has two members in the neotropical region (_o. bistriatus_ and _o. superciliaris_). an exaggerated form of _oedicnemus_ is found in _aesacus_, of which two species have been described, one (_a. recurvirostris_) from the indian, and the other (_a. magnirostris_) from the northern parts of the australian region. (a. n.) footnote: [1] the name spowe (cf. icelandic _spoi_) also seems to have been anciently given to this bird (see stevenson's _birds of norfolk_, ii. 201).",
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