Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)

Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) Inskip Pt, SE Queensland, Australia

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Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis at French Frigate Shoals

Image by Duncan Wright - License: Public Domain. (view image details)

EASTERN CURLEW FACTS

Description
Body mottled yellow-brown and dark brown, with a white belly. Bill long, narrow and curves down at the tip; lower bill pink at the base. Body up to 62 cm long.

Eastern Curlews migrate from southeast Asia, where they breed, to Australia in summer, arriving in August and departing in May. Females' bills are longer that males by up to 2 cm.

Author credit: Museum Victoria Sciences Staff / Museum Victoria

Habitat
Coastal mudflats and estuaries.

Food
Carnivore

Range
Asia. Coastal mainland Australia and Tasmania

distribution map showing range of Numenius madagascariensis in Australia

distribution map showing range of Numenius madagascariensis in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Genus:	Numenius
Species:	madagascariensis
Common Name:	Eastern Curlew

Relatives in same Genus
Little Curlew (N. minutus)
Whimbrel (N. phaeopus)