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Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) — photo 1 of 6
© Andreas Trepte CC BY-SA 2.5

Sandpipers · Shorebirds

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

Year-round

Voice

Call

Jochem verweij

0:20

Song

wilmet sebastien

0:17

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:31

How to recognize it

  • 50–60 cm, goose-sized

  • Very long bill, smoothly downcurved

  • Greyish-brown plumage, paler back

  • Loud, drawn-out call "curloo-oo"

About the species

A long, downcurved bill and a loud, drawn-out call make the Eurasian Curlew easy to notice on a walk by open ground or wet fields. Its plumage is muted brown and grey, so the shape of the bill and the habit of wading through soft mud often leave the stronger impression.

It moves with a deliberate, probing manner, taking insects, worms, mollusks, small crabs, and other small animals from the ground or mud. The call sounds like "curloo-oo", and males use it on breeding grounds. Outside the breeding season it gathers in flocks, and in milder areas it may stay through the year.

It nests in marshes, wet meadows, and other damp places, and in winter it shifts to coasts, estuaries, fields, and flooded grassland. Across most of its range it migrates south for the colder months, reaching southern Europe, Africa, and southern Asia.

Where to find

  • On wet meadows and rough fields beyond the city edge — walking slowly at the grass line and probing for worms with its long bill.

  • Along canal banks, ponds, and shallow inlets — especially in muddy edges where it works the soft silt methodically.

  • On coastal flats or broad river shores — easiest to pick out where a lone curlew feeds on the damp open ground.

  • At dawn near open waterside lawns — often alert and wary, but giving itself away with a long, far-carrying call.

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Sources