Long-billed Curlew
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| Long-billed Curlew | ||||||||||||||
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| Numenius americanus Bechstein, 1812 |
The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae.
Adults have a very long bill curved downwards, a long neck and a small head. The head, neck and underparts are light brown. The back is dark brown. They show cinnamon wing linings in flight.
Their breeding habitat is grasslands in west-central North America. They are short distance migrants and winter along coasts in the southern United States south to Mexico.
These birds forage in fields, picking up food by sight, also by probing. They mainly eat insects, but also eat crustaceans in coastal areas.
Nests are located on the ground in open prairie. The female usually lays 4 eggs. Both parents look after the young.
The population was significantly reduced at the end of the 19th century by hunting. Numbers have rebounded somewhat in more recent times. It was formerly classified as a Near Threatened species by the IUCN[1], but new research has confirmed that the Long-billed Curlew is again common and widespread. Consequently, it is downlisted to Least Concern status in 2008[2].
This species was also called the "candlestick bird". Candlestick Point in San Francisco was named after this indigenous bird, and subsequently Candlestick Park stadium inherited the name[3]. Ironically, the species had dramatically declined in the San Francisco area by the early 20th century already, being "practically extinct" in San Mateo County in 1916[4]. By the time the stadium was constructed in the 1950s, the last remnants of the flocks of "candlestick birds" - which formerly numbered in the thousands - were being slaughtered by hunters until, at least temporarily, none were left[3].
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (BLI) (2006). Numenius americanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
- BirdLife International (BLI) (2008): [2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]. Retrieved 2008-MAY-23.
- Littlejohn, Chase (1916): Some unusual records for San Mateo County, California. Abstract in: Cooper Club: Minutes of Cooper Club Meetings. Condor 18(1): 38-40. DjVu fulltext PDF fulltext
[edit] External links
- Long-billed Curlew Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Long-billed Curlew Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding
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