wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
in the large
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
family Scolopacidae. It is a very small
curlew
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 infl ...
, which breeds in the far north of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. It is closely related to the
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n
Eskimo curlew
The Eskimo curlew (''Numenius borealis''), 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 th ...
.
Etymology
The word "curlew" is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Langland's Piers Plowman">William Langland">Langland's Piers Plowman. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek ''noumenios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius of Miletus, Hesychius. It is associated with the curlews because it appears to be derived from ''neos'', "new", and ''mene'', "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill. The species name is from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''minutus'', "small".
Description
It is mainly greyish-brown, including the underwings, with a white belly, and a short, for a curlew, curved bill. It has a head pattern like a
Eurasian whimbrel
The Eurasian or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus''), 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 Pal ...
, with crown and superciliary stripes. The call is a repetitive whistle. It is the smallest species of curlew with an average length of , an average wingspan of and an average weight of .
Behaviour
This is a strongly migratory species, wintering in
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
. It is a very rare vagrant to western
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, including once in
Blankenberge
Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, in September 2010. In the winter of 2019/2020 a bird was seen in
The Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
Breeding
This bird breeds in loose colonies in forest clearings in river valleys. The nest is a ground scrape. It winters inland on grassland, cultivation or near fresh water, mainly in northern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
but also as far south as
St Kilda, South Australia
St Kilda is a coastal township, hamlet, now classed as a List of Adelaide suburbs, suburb, north-north-west of the centre of Adelaide, capital city of South Australia. With a population below 100 and a sole road connecting to the Port Wakefi ...
. It is gregarious, forming sizeable flocks. This species feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates.