Curlew

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The curlews (/ˈkɜːrljuː/) are a group of eight species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French Script error: No such module "Lang"., "messenger", from Script error: No such module "Lang"., "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "Script error: No such module "Lang".".[1] In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).

Taxonomy

The genus Numenius was erected by the French scientist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his Ornithologie published in 1760.[2] The type species is the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).[3] The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus had introduced the genus Numenius in the 6th edition of his Systema Naturae published in 1748,[4] but Linnaeus dropped the genus in the important tenth edition of 1758 and put the curlews together with the woodcocks in the genus Scolopax.[5][6] As the publication date of Linnaeus's sixth edition was before the 1758 starting point of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, Brisson and not Linnaeus is considered as the authority for the genus.[7] The name Numenius is from Ancient Greek Script error: No such module "Lang"., a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlews because it appears to be derived from neos, "new" and mene, "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill.[8] The genus now contains nine species:[9]

The following cladogram showing the genetic relationships between the species is based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2023.[10]

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Description

They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills.[11] Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground,[12][13] searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items.

Distribution

File:Oulunsalo.vaakuna.svg
The Eurasian curlew pictured in the coat of arms of Oulunsalo, a former municipality of North Ostrobothnia, Finland

Curlews enjoy a worldwide distribution. Most species exhibit strong migratory habits and consequently one or more species can be encountered at different times of the year in Europe, Ireland, Britain, Iberia, Iceland, Africa, Southeast Asia, Siberia, North America, South America and Australasia.

The distribution of curlews has altered considerably in the past hundred years as a result of changing agricultural practices. For instance, Eurasian curlew populations have suffered due to draining of marshes for farmland, whereas long-billed curlews have shown an increase in breeding densities around areas grazed by livestock.[14][15] As of 2019, there were only a small number of Eurasian curlews still breeding in Ireland, raising concerns that the bird will become extinct in that country.[16]

The stone-curlews are not true curlews (family Scolopacidae) but members of the family Burhinidae, which is in the same order Charadriiformes, but only distantly related within that.

For key to IUCN status below, see Conservation status.

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The Late Eocene (Montmartre Formation, some 35 mya) fossil Limosa gypsorum of France was originally placed in Numenius and may in fact belong there.[17] Apart from that, a Late Pleistocene curlew from San Josecito Cave, Mexico has been described.[18] This fossil was initially placed in a distinct genus, Palnumenius, but was actually a chronospecies or paleosubspecies related to the long-billed curlew.

The upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) is an odd bird which is the closest relative of the curlews.[11] It is distinguished from them by its yellow legs, long tail, and shorter, less curved bill.

Protection

In the UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a five-year plan aimed at restoring the number of curlews in the country.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Script error: No such module "template wrapper". (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in français and Latina). Vol. 1. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 48, Vol. 5, p. 311.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 260.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Linnaeus, Carl (1748). Systema Naturae sistens regna tria naturæ, in classes et ordines, genera et species redacta tabulisque aeneis illustrata (in Latina) (6th ed.). Stockholmiae (Stockholm): Godofr, Kiesewetteri. pp. 16, 26.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latina). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 145.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Allen, J.A. (1910). "Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 28: 317–335. hdl:2246/678.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Article 3". International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4th ed.). London: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. 1999. ISBN 978-0-85301-006-7.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Sandpipers, snipes, coursers". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tan, H.Z.; Jansen, J.J.; Allport, G.A.; Garg, K.M.; Chattopadhyay, B.; Irestedt, M.; Pang, S.E.; Chilton, G.; Gwee, C.Y.; Rheindt, F.E. (2023). "Megafaunal extinctions, not climate change, may explain Holocene genetic diversity declines in Numenius shorebirds". eLife. 12 e85422. doi:10.7554/eLife.85422. PMC 10406428.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A.; Székely, Tamás (2004). "A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny". BMC Evol. Biol. 4: 28. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-4-28. PMC 515296. PMID 15329156.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How local farmers in Roscommon and their community got together to conserve a bog and protect rare birds". independent. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Reared curlews act like wild counterparts after release in Norfolk". BBC News. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  14. ^ Encyclopedia of the Animal World (1977): Vol.6: 518–519. Bay Books, Sydney.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cochrane, J. F.; Anderson, S. H. (1987). "Comparison of habitat attributes at sites of stable and declining Long-billed Curlew populations". Great Basin Naturalist. 47: 459–466.
  16. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christian TV Ireland (29 September 2019). Mary Colwell- Interview on the almost extinct Curlew bird in Ireland. Retrieved 29 September 2019 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section X.D.2.b. Scolopacidae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 174–175. Academic Press, New York.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquín; Johnson, Eileen (2003). "Catálogo de los ejemplares tipo procedentes de la Cueva de San Josecito, Nuevo León, México" (PDF). Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas. 20 (1): 79–93. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  19. ^ Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Give Curlew chicks a chance to fly, accessed on 30 May 2026

Further reading

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