Medium large. The smallest curlew. Relatively short, slender, slightly downcurved bill. Sexes alike.
Adults: Crown, dark brown, with buff central stripe. Eyebrow, buff. Eyestripe, dark brown. Sides of face, neck, upper breast, buff with dark brown streaks. Back, wings, rump, dark brown mottled with buff or rufous buff. Tail, greyish-brown barred with dark brown. Throat, belly, undertail coverts, buff. Underwing, buff, barred with dark brown. Bill, dark brown, base of lower mandible, pinkish. Eye, dark brown. Legs, yellowish to bluish-grey.
Juveniles: Similar to adult, except crown mostly black brown with indistinct central stripe. Scapulars, wing coverts, mantle feathers, notched and fringed off-white. Streaking on breast and flanks less extensive and paler.
Other Names (World)
Little Curlew, Little Whimbrel (New Zealand), Pygmy Curlew, Siberian Baby Curlew
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China (mainland), Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Guam (NB), Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Mongolia (B), North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Palau (NB), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia (Asian), South Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB) (P).
Vagrant to Christmas Island, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Seychelles, United Kingdom, USA.
Unknown to Canada.
Northern and central Yakutia, from southern slopes of Putorana Mts east to R Anabar, and Verkhoyansk and Cherski Mts on upper R Yana and R Indigirka as far east as R Anyuy, along Siberian coast. Winters in New Guinea and Australia.
Population
Estimated population is 180,000 (2010).
Status LC
Degradation of important stop-over sites in northern Australia through colonization of invasive plants, saltwater intrusion, damage by feral animals, and conversion to agriculture is the main threat.
Habits
Usually in small groups sometimes very large flocks.
Food
Mainly adult and larval insects and spiders but also seed and berries.
Voice
A rapid, hoarse, 'tit-tit-tit-tit', less shrill than the Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), and a 'tchew-tchew-tchew', harsher and lower-pitched that the Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet