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Curlew Sandpiper
(Calidris ferruginea)
: "Curlew Sting", "Pygmy Curlew"
Size: 18-19 cm; wing span 42-46 cm
Weight: 35-100 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Curlew Sandpipers are very small waders.
Their plumage
is highly cryptic.
When seen in Australia, they are usually in
eclipse
plumage.
During the
non-breeding season they have a white frons, white
throat patch, grey chest and white belly, vent and undertail
coverts. The head is grey with darker brownish-grey streaking.
The frons connects to whitish eyebrows above darker, grey
eye stripes. The nape of the neck is also grey, while the wing
feathers are brownish-grey, with thin dark-grey central stripes
and thin light-grey edge-lining. The upper part of the tail is
white, the tip is dark-grey.
In-flight they show a thin wing bar, with stripes on the primaries,
and a prominent white base of the tail, while the tip is dark-grey.
The tail does not have a longitudinal black centre stripe.
During the breeding season, apart from small light-grey patches
around the base of the bill, the head and front, down to the belly
become brick-red, with some striation on the crown and some minor
scalloping on chest and belly. The back is dark-grey, with brick-red
scalloping and light-grey edge lining. The vent and undertail coverts
are white, with some dark streaking. The tail remains dark-grey.
The eyes have dark irises. The dark-grey bill is slightly downcurved
and clearly longer than the size of the head. The legs and feet are
dark-grey. In flight the feet protrude slightly beyond the tail.
Juveniles
have a very fine, crisp scaly pattern on the back (that
is much neater than in
adults),
with chestnut and grey edge lining on a grey base.
Fresh plumage
also shows a buff wash on the breast.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared with other species of
sandpipers and stints, they have the longest and most prominently
down-curved bill (similar to a
(Numenius) curlew, hence the name).
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Curlew
Sandpiper at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Curlew Sandpiper is available
HERE
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Curlew Sandpipers are a migratory species.
The breeding grounds of Curlew Sandpipers are located in Arctic
tundra and taiga, mainly in Siberia, but also in northern Europe.
They are also found in large parts of western, central and southern
Europe, in Asia Minor, the Middle East and along the Arabian
coastline, in parts of western and central Asia, mostly in
(near-)coastal regions of South-east Asia and also in far-eastern
Asia, e.g. Japan.
In the southern hemisphere they have two major areas of winter
grounds. The western population migrates to eastern and southern
Africa, while the eastern population migrates to eastern
Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and on the North Island
of New Zealand.
Curlew Sandpipers are non-breeding migrants to Australia from
the North. They
are mainly coastal waders and can be found all along the coastline
of Australia, including Tasmania and many smaller off-shore islands. Occasionally
they can be found inland, mostly in the lower Murray River
catchment. Elsewhere in the interior of the continent they
are rare and they are never found in the major sandy deserts
of eastern WA, the south-western NT and north-western SA.
There are areas just inland from the Great Dividing Range,
in inland NSW and QLD, where they are not found either.
Curlew Sandpipers have a preference for saline water, in
intertidal mudflats,
estuaries,
lagoons and
mangrove swamps.
But they are found around fresh water as well, around
lakes,
dams and
ephemeral wetlands.
NOTE that Curlew Sandpipers can hybridize with Cox's Sandpiper.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
C. Hayne reports spotting at least 10 Curlew Sandpipers in non-breeding
plumage,
together with several other species of waders, resting on a
sandbank on the shore of Lake Chickiba, Ballina, NSW, in December 2012
to January 2013.
Two Curlew Sandpipers were spotted by us on large farm dams near Breeza, NSW, in
December 2013.
M. Eaton reports finding Curlew Sandpipers at Caloundra Headlands, QLD,
in January 2018, at Nudgee Beach, QLD, in March 2018, and at the Port
of Brisbane Wader Roost, Brisbane, QLD, in January 2019.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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Distant near-lateral view of a Curlew Sandpiper in
what looks like (already) worn breeding
plumage; based on
the length of the bill, this is probably a male
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, March 2018]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Near-lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Caloundra Headland, QLD, January 2018]
Lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage; note
the rather long hind toes
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
spreading its wings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, November 2018]
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FEMALE |
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BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a Curlew Sandpiper in fresh breeding
plumage; based on
the length of the bill, this is probably a female
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, March 2018]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a female(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
[Near Breeza, NSW, December 2013]
Female(?) Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage feeding on the edge of a
farm dam
[Near Breeza, NSW, December 2013]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Lateral view of two Curlew Sandpipers in non-breeding
plumage on a
beach
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Caloundra Headland, QLD, January 2018]
Near-dorsal view of a Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Port of Brisbane Wader Roost, Brisbane, QLD, January 2019]
Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Near Breeza, NSW, December 2013]
Curlew Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage in flight, seen from behind;
note the white rump
[Near Breeza, NSW, December 2013]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.