Adults: Crown, brown with a buff midian strip. Eyebrow, buff. Eyestripe, dark brown. Hind neck, back, scapulars, and most wing coverts, mottled brown with light brown. Lower back, mostly white flecked with brown. Uppertail coverts, flanks, underwing, buff white barred with greyish-brown. Throat, centre of belly, shanks, buff white. Sides of face, neck, breast, buff, streaked streaked with greyish-brown. Rump, greyish-brown. Tail, greyish-brown barred with dark brown. Bill, dark brown, with base of lower mandible pinkish. Eye, dark brown. Legs, blue grey.
Juveniles: Similar to adult. Crown, darker brown. Eyestripe less distinct. Scapulars, wing-coverts, mantle feathers, black brown with off-white notches. Underparts have finer streaks and bars. Bill is shorter.
Other Names (World)
Hudsonian Curlew, Hudsonian Whimbrel
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Western and northern Alaska, east to western Yukon and north-western Mackenzie, and also western Hudson Bay. Winters from southern USA to southern South America.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2011).
Habits
Singly or in small groups, often associating with other waders.
Food
Terrestrial invertebrates. Insects on Tundra, worms, shrimps and other crustaceans on seashores.
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) [XC352345]
by Frank Lambert from Granja de Camar\u00f3n, San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico (call)
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) [XC614746]
by Paul Marvin from CR 469, Merkel, Jones County, Texas, United States (call)
Nest
A shallow depression in the ground, in the open, sparsely lined with grass.
Eggs (Guide)
More heavily marked than that of Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata).
Clutch Size: 3 - 5
Color: olive-brown to blue-green variously spotted and streaked with dusky
Dimensions: 58 x 40 mm (oval to pyriform)
Incubation: 27 - 28 days by both sexes
Young
Tended by both parents.
Fledge: 35 - 40 days
Subspecies
Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
Much larger. Has a longer bill, and white underwings.
Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)
Smaller. Bill is not as decurved. Head pattern is more muted. Underwings are cinnamon in color.
Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
Similar size. Has a cinnamon rump. Underparts have more cinnamon. Bill is thicker and less pointed.
Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)
Slightly smaller. Has a shorter, slender, less decurved bill. Underparts are bright white. Lacks the pale median crown stripe. Tail has dark bars.
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Similar size. Rump and underwings are white. Underparts are whiter.
Compare Images