Adults: Upperparts mostly mottled, dark brown, with feathers having buff edges. Lower back, rump, uppertail coverts, white. Tail, white with dark brown bars. Eye, dark brown. Throat, lower belly, undertail coverts, underwing, white. Face, neck, breast, upper belly, white and lightly streaked with brown. Bill, dark brown with base of lower mandible pink. Legs, blue grey.
Other Names (World)
Eurasian Curlew, European Curlew, Western Curlew, Curlew, Whaup
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Rare vagrant, Northern Territory and southern Western Australia.
Habitat
Estuaries, tidal mudflats, sandspits, saltmarshes, mangroves, open grasslands near water and occasionally fresh or brackish lakes, often associates with Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis).
Afghanistan (P), Albania (NB) (P), Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Austria (B) (NB) (P), Azerbaijan (NB) (P), Bahrain, Bangladesh (NB), Belarus (B) (NB) (P), Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Benin (NB) (P), Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria (NB), Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland), Comoros, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (NB), Cyprus (NB) (P), Czech Republic (B) (NB), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea (NB) (P), Eritrea, Estonia (B), Ethiopia, Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany (B) (NB) (P), Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece (NB) (P), Guam (NB), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B) (NB), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (NB) (P), Iraq (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel, Italy (B) (NB), Japan, Jordan (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait (NB), Kyrgyzstan (P), Laos, Latvia (B), Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B), Lithuania (B), Luxembourg, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia (NB), Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Moldova [Republic of] (B) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia (NB), Nepal, Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), Nigeria, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (P), Oman (NB), Pakistan, Philippines (NB), Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Qatar, Réunion, Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Saudi Arabia (NB), Senegal, Serbia (B) (NB), Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia (B) (NB), Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Togo, Tunisia (NB), Turkey (NB), Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates (NB) (P), United Kingdom (B) (NB) (P), Uzbekistan, Vietnam (NB), Western Sahara, Yemen (P), Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Bahamas, Bhutan, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Greenland, Lebanon, Lesotho, Niger, Niue, Rwanda, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Syrian Arab Republic, USA.
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) [XC879535]
by WINDELS Martin from Arrondissement de Vannes (near S\u00e9rent), Morbihan, Brittany, France (flight call, nocturnal flight call)
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) [XC891271]
by MILLON Xavier from Arrondissement de Vannes (near S\u00e9rent), Morbihan, Brittany, France (call, flight call, nocturnal flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in northern hemisphere.
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Nest
A large depression on the ground, sometimes on a grass tussock, lined with grass.
Eggs (Guide)
Clutch Size: 2 - 5
Color: various shades of buff, brown and olive, spotted and blotched with darker brown
Dimensions: (pyriform)
Incubation: 27 - 30 days by both sexes
Subspecies
Subspecies intergrade in south-eastern Europe and western Siberia.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
arquata (Linnaeus, 1758) - British Isles, Norway and western and central continental Europe. Winters from Iceland and British Is south to Mediterranean and north-western Africa, and east to Persian Gulf and western India.
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orientalis Brehm, CL, 1831 - Central Asia. Winters in eastern and southern Africa, Madagascar, and from southern Caspian Sea south to Persian Gulf and east through southern Asia to eastern China and southern Japan, and south to Philippines and Greater Sundas.
suschkini Neumann, 1929 - Western Kazakhstan to south-western Siberia. Winters along coasts of sub-Saharan Africa and south-western Asia.
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Similar Species
Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
Larger. Has a longer bill. Underwings brown and heavily barred. Lacks white on rump and tail.
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Smaller. Bill is shorter and more curved. Crown is divided by a pale streak. Underwings closely darker barred.
Compare Images
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
BirdLife International Species Factsheet