Long-billed curlew

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Long-billed curlew
Long-billed curlew at Drakes Beach, Point Reyes.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Numenius
Species:
N. americanus
Binomial name
Numenius americanus
Bechstein, 1812
Curlew feb2009 modified mar4.jpg
Range of N. americanus
Synonyms

Numenius longirostra(is)

The long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus) is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" [2] and the "candlestick bird". The species breeds in central and western North America, migrating southward and coastward for the winter.

Contents

Description

A male long-billed curlew in flight Long Billed Curlew - Flight.jpg
A male long-billed curlew in flight

The long-billed curlew is the largest sandpiper of regular occurrence in North America. It is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, 62–90 cm (24+1235+12 in) across the wing and weighs 490–950 g (1 lb 1+12 oz – 2 lb 1+12 oz). [3] Its disproportionally long bill curves downward and measures 11.3–21.9 cm (4+128+58 in), and rivals the bill of the larger-bodied Far Eastern curlew as the longest bill of any shorebird. [4] Individuals have a long neck and a small head. The neck and underparts are a light cinnamon in color, while the crown is streaked with brown. This species exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism, as in many sandpipers, the female being larger and having a much longer bill than the male's.

Breeding

Long-billed curlews courting Long-billed Curlews courting.jpg
Long-billed curlews courting

The breeding habitat is grasslands in west-central North America. The species displays an elaborate courtship dance, with fast and looping display flights also being common. A small hollow is lined with various weeds and grasses to serve as the nest. The species is a determinant layer, a characteristic of shorebirds, laying four eggs, which vary in hue from white to olive. The young of the Long-billed curlew are precocial, the chicks leaving the nest soon after hatching. Though both parents look after the young, females usually abandon the brood to the male 1–3 weeks after hatching and depart for winter grounds. [5] Adults whose nest fails often depart immediately (or nearly so) for winter grounds. [5]

Feeding

Eating a sand crab Long-billed Curlew eating sand crab.jpg
Eating a sand crab
Foraging in the sand Long-billed Curlew foraging.jpg
Foraging in the sand

Long-billed curlews often feed in flocks. Using the long bill, an individual probes the mud or other substrate for suitable food. The usual food consists of crabs and various other small invertebrates. The species also feeds on grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects. This bird has been known to occasionally eat the eggs of other birds.

Conservation status

The population was significantly reduced at the end of the 19th century by hunting, though numbers have rebounded somewhat in more-recent times. The species was formerly classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, but new research has confirmed that the long-billed curlew is again common and widespread. [6] Consequently, it has been downlisted to Least Concern status in 2008. [7]

Candlestick Point in San Francisco was named after this indigenous bird, and subsequently Candlestick Park stadium inherited the name. [8] The species had dramatically declined in the San Francisco area by the early 20th century already, being "practically extinct" in San Mateo County in 1916. [9] By the time the stadium was constructed in the 1950s, there was no remnant of the huge, local flocks of "candlestick birds" left. [8]

The long-billed curlew was also formerly a plentiful wintering bird on the East Coast of the United States, and John James Audubon's painting of the species was in fact of individuals he sighted near Charleston, South Carolina. However, market hunting and breeding habitat loss nearly wiped out this population, and presently only a small "ghost" or relict population of less than a hundred birds still winters on the East Coast, and this population has yet to recover. It is possible that this wintering population may have consisted largely of now-extirpated birds that bred on the eastern Great Plains, and the disappearance of those birds may tie in to the near disappearance of the Atlantic wintering population, with the present Atlantic wintering population being the descendants of the last survivors of the eastern Great Plains breeders. In December 2015, one such "ghost bird" was successfully captured off the coast of Georgia and fitted with a satellite tag with plans to analyze its migration routes, with it taking flight in April 2016. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandpiper</span> Family of birds

Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds, or waders, which mainly includes many species known as sandpipers, but also others such as woodcocks, curlews and snipes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curlew</span> Genus of birds

The curlews are a group of nine species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their 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 curlew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common merganser</span> Species of bird

The common merganser or goosander (Eurasian) is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American avocet</span> Species of bird

The American avocet is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae, found in North America. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks crustacean and insect prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upland sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The upland sandpiper is a large sandpiper, closely related to the curlews. Older names are the upland plover and Bartram's sandpiper. In Louisiana, it is also colloquially known as the papabotte. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram. The species name longicauda is from Latin longus, "long" and caudus, "tail". The name "Bartram's sandpiper" was made popular by Alexander Wilson, who was taught ornithology and natural history illustration by Bartram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian curlew</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian curlew or common curlew is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian whimbrel</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian or common whimbrel, also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This species and the Hudsonian whimbrel have recently been split, although some taxonomic authorities still consider them to be conspecific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American golden plover</span> Species of bird

The American golden plover, is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name dominica refers to Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola, in the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willet</span> Species of bird

The willet is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper and is the largest of the species called "shanks" in the genus Tringa. Its closest relative is the lesser yellowlegs, a much smaller bird with a very different appearance apart from the fine, clear, and dense pattern of the neck, which both species show in breeding plumage. It breeds in North America and the West Indies and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American woodcock</span> Species of bird

The American woodcock, sometimes colloquially referred to as the timberdoodle, mudbat, bogsucker, night partridge, or Labrador twister is a small shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcocks spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where the birds' brown, black, and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The western sandpiper is a small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific mauri commemorates Italian botanist Ernesto Mauri (1791–1836).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-rumped sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The white-rumped sandpiper is a small shorebird that breeds in the northern tundra of Canada and Alaska. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-billed dowitcher</span> Species of bird

The long-billed dowitcher is a medium-sized shorebird with a relatively long bill belonging to the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. In breeding plumage, adults are characterized by a beautiful rufous head and underparts with a darker mottled back and a large white upper rump only seen in flight. They feed in various freshwater habitats with their bill underwater in a "sewing machine" motion and are known to have an exciting mating display where males chase females in flight. The genus, Limnodromus is Ancient Greek from limne, "marsh" and dromos, "racer". The specific scolopaceus is Neo-Latin for "snipe-like", from Latin scolopax, scolopacis, a snipe or woodcock. The English name is from Iroquois and was first recorded in 1841.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marbled godwit</span> Species of bird

The marbled godwit is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eskimo curlew</span> Species of bird

The Eskimo curlew, also known as northern curlew, is a species of curlew in the family Scolopacidae. It was one of the most numerous shorebirds in the tundra of western Arctic Canada and Alaska. Thousands of birds were then killed per year in the late 1800s. As there has not been a reliable sighting since 1987 or a confirmed sighting since 1963, the Eskimo curlew is considered Critically Endangered or possibly extinct. The bird was about 30 cm (12 in) long and fed mostly on insects and berries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slender-billed curlew</span> Species of bird

The slender-billed curlew is a bird in the wader family Scolopacidae. Isotope analysis suggests the majority of the former population bred in the Kazakh Steppe despite a record from the Siberian swamps, and was migratory, formerly wintering in shallow freshwater habitats around the Mediterranean. This species has occurred as a vagrant in western Europe, the Canary Islands, the Azores, Oman, Canada, and Japan. The slender-billed curlew was always a rare species and is feared extinct, with the last verifiable sighting being in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pectoral sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The pectoral sandpiper is a small, migratory wader that breeds in North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 21 cm (8.3 in) long, with a wingspan of 46 cm (18 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stilt sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The stilt sandpiper is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name kalidris or skalidris is a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific himantopus means "strap foot" or "thong foot".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristle-thighed curlew</span> Species of bird

The bristle-thighed curlew is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Eastern curlew</span> Species of bird

The Far Eastern curlew is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing. It is not only the largest curlew but probably the world's largest sandpiper, at 60–66 cm (24–26 in) in length and 110 cm (43 in) across the wings. The body is reportedly 565–1,150 g (1.246–2.535 lb), which may be equaled by the Eurasian curlew. The extremely long bill, at 12.8–20.1 cm (5.0–7.9 in) in length, rivals the bill size of the closely related long-billed curlew as the longest bill for a sandpiper.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Numenius americanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22693195A93390204. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693195A93390204.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Mowat, Farley (1984). Sea of Slaughter (First American ed.). Atlantic Monthly Press Publishing. ISBN   978-0871130136.
  3. "Long-billed curlew". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  4. Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John; Prater, Tony (1991). Shorebirds. Helm Identification Guides. Christopher Helm. ISBN   978-0713635096.
  5. 1 2 Allen, J. N. (1980). "The ecology and behavior of the Long-billed Curlew in southeastern Washington". Wildlife Monograph (73).
  6. Jones, Stephanie L.; Nations, Christopher S.; Fellows, Suzanne D.; McDonald, Lyman L. (2008). "Breeding abundance and distribution of Long Billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) in North America" (PDF). Waterbirds. 31 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2008)31[1:BAADOL]2.0.CO;2.
  7. "2008 IUCN Redlist status changes". BirdLife International. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  8. 1 2 "Candlestick Park". Ballparks.com. Retrieved 3 October 2006.
  9. Littlejohn, Chase (1916). "Some unusual records for San Mateo County, California. Abstract in: Minutes of Cooper Club Meetings" (PDF). Condor . 18 (1): 38–40. doi:10.2307/1362896. JSTOR   1362896. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  10. "Long-billed curlew to illuminate mysterious migration of dwindling wintering population". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  11. "Smithsonian-tracked "Ghost Bird" Takes Flight". Smithsonian's National Zoo. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  12. "A ghost of the eastern marshes - MCP". The Migratory Connectivity Project. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  13. "Long-billed Curlew". Audubon. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  14. "Long-billed Curlew". American Bird Conservancy. Retrieved 2020-12-16.