Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew’s call, but may have been influenced by the Old French corliu, “messenger”, from courir , “to run”. It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland’s Piers Plowman “Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre“. In Europe “curlew” usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlewNumenius arquata,more info:wiki
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#10 Curlews in crisis?,more info:birdlife
To the layman, the curlews are a shy, unassuming family of birds. Their mottled-brown plumage makes for effective camouflage against their marshland and mudflat feeding grounds, meaning they can go about their business unnoticed, prying out invertebrates such as ragworms with their purpose-built curved bills. But if, like the curlews, you take time to dig beneath the surface, you’ll discover that they are beautiful and remarkable birds.
The Numeniini are a tribe of large waders consisting of the curlews, whimbrels, godwits and Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda. They are some of the most widespread and far-travelling of all birds, migrating back and forth from their upland and grassland northern hemisphere breeding habitats to their wetland, often coastal, non-breeding habitats to the southern extremities of all continents except for Antarctica.
Indeed, one such member, the Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica is holder of the world record for the longest non-stop journey without feeding of any animal – satellite tagging has shown that birds from one population take eight days to fly from breeding grounds in Alaska 11,000 km to New Zealand every year.
Perhaps it’s their wide range lulling us into a false sense of security that means they have been a little overlooked by conservationists until now. Or maybe it’s that their camouflage is a little too effective. Whatever the reason, it’s time for the curlew to be counted, because an eye-opening new study reveals that they could be one of, if not THE, most threatened group of birds on our planet.
#9 Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus,more info:neotropical.birds.cornell
#8 Curlew on the edge of extinction in Ireland,more info:thatsfarming
# 7 The Queensland Bush Stone-curlew,more info:lfwseq
So much is unknown about Queensland Bush Stone-curlew ecology and behaviour. Information for this article has been gathered from publicly available sources and research undertaken by Griffith University PhD student, Scott O’Keeffe, who is mid-way through a project on urban Bush Stone-curlew ecology.
The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius) is a large ground- dwelling bird with a wingspan of 55-60 cm. They can live for 20 years, sometimes more. They are a terrestrial predator adapted to stalking and running. Bush Stone-curlews are considered common in Queensland but since no monitoring of the species has been carried out in South East Queensland, it is possible that they could suffer the serious declines evident in southern states. In New South Wales they are listed as Endangered and in Victoria, Threatened.
The Bush Stone-curlew call is an evocative and unforgettable sound. It is a penetrating, strident, wail, rising with a slight waver, and dropping at the end and often repeated a number of times in quick succession.
#6 Eurasian curlew,more info:wikipedia
#5 A Curlew replacement clutch,more info:glosnats
Because of the difficulty of finding Curlew nests and eggs in the large hay meadows where they nest in the Severn and Avon Vales, it is hard to follow the nesting cycle of this species. They don’t lay their eggs very early in the season because, being the largest wader, they would be an obvious target for foxes, crows and other predators (though Lapwings seem to take this risk, with some success). So an incubation period of 28-30 days and a fledging period of 32-38 days (BTO guide to monitoring nests) means that a relatively early laying date of 15 April would give fledging on 23 June, and a laying date of 30 April would give fledging on 8 July. On the rare occasions when we have found young birds, this has often been of unfledged chicks well into July, so some Curlews obviously don’t start incubating until early May. All this means that that there is never going to be time for a second clutch, quite apart from the effects of predators or of damage by hay-making machinery.
This year, the Curlew breeding season has been disrupted by flooding, in particular the flood from the last days of April until mid-May; then there was another flood in late July. As a result, it seems to me that in all the breeding areas along the Severn and Avon, clutches were washed out. The birds have generally hung around at the favoured sites after the floods, but have not behaved as they do when they have young, flying round and round with agitated alarm calls. I therefore suspect very strongly that the majority of Curlews have failed this year (though I still need a better final look at Upham Meadow, Twyning).
#4 Curlew sandpiper,more info:wikipedia
#3 Eastern curlew,more info:nzbirdsonline
The eastern curlew is the largest wader in New Zealand, and has the longest bill of any wader at around 20 cm in length. It is a regular summer visitor to New Zealand but now in very small numbers, with probably fewer than 10 each summer since the mid 2000’s, and usually at only a handful of sites. The eastern curlew is confined to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), with a global population estimated to be c.20,000 and declining.
#2 The Cry of the Curlew,more info:birdwatchireland
#1 BUSH STONE-CURLEW PROJECT,more info:perthzoo.wa
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