Long-Billed Curlew
Numenius americanus
About This Species
Search open grasslands of the North American interior in the breeding season, where this large shorebird uses a long, downcurved bill to probe for invertebrates, and coastal mudflats and estuaries in winter, where it does the same in soft sediment. An evocative, rising 'cur-lee' call is often heard before the bird is spotted against open ground. Spring and early summer are best on breeding grasslands, while fall through winter favours tidal flats and coastal wetlands.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep at least 50 metres from birds on breeding territory, since nests are simple ground scrapes in open grassland that are easily trampled or exposed by a close approach, and adults will distract intruders away from chicks at real cost to their own energy reserves.
- In the United States and Canada it is protected under migratory bird treaty legislation, while regulations in Mexican wintering areas differ.
- On coastal flats, viewing from a distance with a scope avoids flushing resting or feeding flocks.
LCAvesCharadriiformesScolopacidae
Seasonal Activity
549,608 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.