Long-billed Curlew
Numenius americanus
The female's bill is typically longer than the male's and has a more pronounced curve at the tip.
- Scientific name
- Numenius americanus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Scolopacidae › Numenius
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies for breeding; coastal mudflats and salt marshes for wintering.
- Diet
- Insects like grasshoppers and beetles during summer; marine worms, crabs, and shrimp during winter.
- Range
- United States, Canada, Mexico
- Size
- Length: 50–65 cm; Wingspan: 62–90 cm
- Lifespan
- 8-10 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation due to agriculture, urban development, and the loss of native prairie ecosystems.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Maintain a distance of at least 50 meters, especially during nesting season (April-July) to avoid causing stress. If the bird flies toward you or calls loudly, you are too close to its nest; back away slowly.
The long-billed curlew ( Numenius americanus ) is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called " sicklebird " and the "candlestick bird" . The species breeds in central and western North America, migrating southward and coastward for the winter.
Photo: Dan Vickers, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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