Eskimo Curlew

A brown shorebird that looks like a miniature Whimbrel. But the downcurved bill is proportionately smaller and the underwings are cinnamon-colored. The body is about the size of a dowitcherÆs. Length: 32-37 cm.; weight: 270-454 g. Breeds in far northwestern Canada, and possibly also bred in far northern Alaska and northeastern Siberia. Winters on the pampas of Argentina. Before market hunting in the 19th Century, it was very common on its breeding grounds. It is now listed as endangered but may well be extinct. Most birds fatten up for migration by eating berries in coastal Labrador. They then fly non-stop to South America for the winter. Formerly a rare migrant in Puerto Rico; most likely in late August and early September. Any sighting of this species should be reported.

TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; SCOLOPACIDAE; Scolopacinae

References

Bent, A.C. 1929. Life histories of North American shore birds, part 2. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 146. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962).

BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK.

Bodsworth, F. 1954. Last of the curlews. Dodd, Mead, and Co. NY. (Re-published 1967 by Country Book Club, London).

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Gill, R.E., Jr., Canevari, P. and E.H. Iversen. 1998. Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis) No. 347 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Gollop, J.B., T.W. Barry, and E.H. Iversen. 1986. Eskimo curlew a vanishing species? Saskatchewan Natural History Society Special Publication No. 17. Regina, Saskatchewan. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/curlew/curlew.htm

Eskimo Curlew, Spanish text

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