Far Eastern Curlew
Numenius madagascariensis
This very large curlew wields a remarkable scimitar-like bill, used to extract invertebrates from deep burrows. Typically found in small to mid-sized groups on expansive mudflats. Similar to Eurasian Curlew, but Far Eastern is far more warmly colored, with a light brown (not white) rump and heavily marked underwings, unlike the unmarked white underwings of Eurasian. Calls similar to Eurasian but deeper in tone.
Identification
The Far Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is a large wader most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing, and brown rump. 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 weight is 390–1,350 g (0.86–2.98 lb), which is equalled by the Eurasian curlew; females are on average about 100 g heavier than males. 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. It overlaps in range with the eastern subspecies of the Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata orientalis, from which it is most easily told by its brown rump and lower back, rather than white.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Far Eastern curlew in his Ornithologie based on a specimen. He used the French name Le courly de Madagascar and the Latin Numenius madagascariensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Far Eastern curlew, for which he coined the binomial name Scolopax madagascariensis.
- Scientific name
- Numenius madagascariensis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Numenius
Range and habitat
The Far Eastern curlew spends its breeding season in northeastern Asia, including Siberia to Kamchatka, and Mongolia. Its breeding habitat is composed of marshy and swampy wetlands and lakeshores. Most individuals spend the non-breeding season in coastal Australia, with a few heading to South Korea, Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand, where they stay at estuaries, beaches, and salt marshes. During its migration the Far Eastern curlew commonly makes stopovers on the mudflats of the Yellow Sea.<p>It uses its long, decurved bill to probe for invertebrates in the mud. It may feed in solitary but it generally congregates in large flocks to migrate or roost. Its call is a sharp, clear whistle, cuuue-reee, often repeated.<p>On its breeding grounds the Far Eastern curlew consumes insects, such as larvae of beetles and flies, and amphipods. During migration it also feeds on berries. In the non-breeding season, it consumes marine invertebrates, preferring crabs and small molluscs but also taking other crustaceans and polychaetes.
- Breeding range
- PAL : inland wetlands of subarctic to temperate ne Palearctic: ec Siberia to Kamchatka and Ussuriland (se Russia) and Heilongjiang (ne China)
- Non-breeding range
- AU : coastal subtropical to tropical e Asia: Ryukyu Is. (=Nansei Shoto, s Japan), Taiwan, se coastal China, Philippines, e Vietnam, Malay Pen., Indonesian Arch., s, se New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania, North and South is. (New Zealand)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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