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Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) Alternate name(s): "Sea Curlew", "Australian Curlew", "Far Eastern Curlew" Aboriginal name(s): "widjonong" (WA) Size: 53-65 cm; wing span 88-105 cm Body mass: 700-1100 g (male), 800-1220 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.60/0.94 (male, lean/fat), 0.63/0.97 (female, lean/fat)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Eastern Curlews are big, extremely long-billed shorebirds. They have a brownish-grey and light-grey scalloped head, neck and chest. The belly and vent are off-white with some dark brown-grey streaking, while the wings are boldly scalloped light and dark grey-brown. The uppertail is boldly barred. During the non-breeding season their upperparts have a rufous tinge. In Australia, Eastern Curlews are usually found in their non-breeding plumage. The plumage is cryptic, i.e. camouflaged, against the background of a mudflat. The dark-grey bill is very long and curved downwards, with a lighter, pinkish base of the lower mandible. Females have a longer bill than males. Legs and feet are grey. Twitcher's tip Compared to Eurasian Curlews, which have a light-brown rump, Eastern Curlews have a darker brown rump. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE. "Raptors" (or "birds of prey"), most prominently, but also some species of waders, show a pronounced "dimorphism", i.e. a difference between male and female birds - not just in the appearance of the plumage, but in other, important properties, such as size or strength. Here we explain why.

Taxonomy, classification See Eastern Curlew at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Twitcher's tip Note that the name "Curlew" is often used incorrectly in everyday Australian English language use to stand for "Stone-curlew". Their correct names are "Bush Stone-curlew" and "Beach Stone-curlew", respectively.

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Eastern Curlew is available HERE . Eastern Curlews breed in the northern hemisphere, in an area ranging from eastern central Asia (around Lake Baikal) to the Sakhalin peninsula and southwards, from Japan, eastern China, Korea and Taiwan via the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to eastern Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand. Eastern Curlews migrate to Australia from the North, via the Torres Strait and in general the sea to the North of the continent, along the entire Australian seaboard and along the Great Barrier Reef. In the South they reach the Bass Strait and the East coast of Tasmania, They are found on offshore islands as well, but nowhere inland. Eastern Curlews can be found in mangrove swamps and mudflats around river estuaries.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Eastern Curlews are spotted by us regularly at the Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, in a mangrove swamp, e.g. in July 2009, January 2011, March 2015, August 2015 and in September 2016. The species has also been found by us at Hunter Wetlands NP, Newcastle, NSW, on various occasions. B. Hensen reports spotting an Eastern Curlew at Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, in August 2013. At the same location we spotted at least 12 Eastern Curlews in August 2014. Other contributors also report finding the species along the beaches in and around Darwin, NT, semi-regularly. H. Mouritsen reports spotting 2 Eastern Curlews near Darwin, NT, in October 2015. P. Brown spotted another Eastern Curlew in Darwin in January 2019 and another in March 2020. J. Greaves reports finding an Eastern Curlew at the Wyndham Town Jetty, Wyndham, WA, in January 2016. M. Eaton reports spotting Eastern Curlews semi-regularly on the coastline of south-eastern QLD. Another Eastern Curlew was found at Campsite Beach, Roebuck Bay, near Broome, WA, in June 2026. M. Mearns found an Eastern Curlew at Carmila, QLD, in September 2019. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting an Eastern Curlew at the Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, in August 2020.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Near-frontal view of a pair of Eastern Curlews in non-breeding plumage
Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Eastern Curlews have enormous bills. Whoever thinks that a male has a long bill, left, maybe right (about 3-3.5x the size of the bill) - but then what about the female's on the right?! At 4-5x the size of the head, THAT'S A BILL!
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2017]

Lateral view of a pair of Eastern Curlews in non-breeding plumage; male on the right, female on the left
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, August 2013]

MALE

BREEDING

Near-dorsal view of a male Eastern Curlew in early breeding plumage in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Coconut Grove, Darwin, NT, March 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a male Eastern Curlew in early breeding plumage in gliding flight (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Coconut Grove, Darwin, NT, March 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a male Eastern Curlew in early breeding plumage in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Coconut Grove, Darwin, NT, March 2020]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Near-lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Dorsal view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, February 2018]

Dorsal view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Nightcliff, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2017]

FEMALE

BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a female Eastern Curlew; the buff to rufous tinge may indicate late breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Toorbul Wader Roost, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

NON-BREEDING

With such an enormous bill, preening can be a bit of a problem for a female Eastern Curlew (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Toorbul Wader Roost, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Mob of Eastern Curlews walking in the surf - the birds with the longest bills are females; males have slightly shorter bills; various species of terns are visible (out of focus) in the foreground
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Sex unknown

Dorsal view of Eastern Curlews in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ?

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Juvenile Eastern Curlews, once they have reached Australia, will only migrate back to the northern hemisphere when they reach maturity (at 2 to 4 years of age). Therefore, although a non-breeding migrant, young non-breeders can be found in Australia all year round.

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew bringing its prey, a molusc, to the waterline... (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Wyndham Town Jetty, Wyndham, WA, January 2016]

... to rinse it before eating (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Wyndham Town Jetty, Wyndham, WA, January 2016]

Eastern Curlews can sometimes be seen in relatively big congregations (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wyndham Town Jetty, Wyndham, WA, January 2016]

Closer look at Eastern Curlews in a big congregation (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wyndham Town Jetty, Wyndham, WA, January 2016]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew digging up its prey
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew with its prey, which looks like a mud crab
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a male Eastern Curlew with its prey, which looks like a mud crab
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Only a minute later, the bird had caught its next victim
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Within about 10 minutes, we saw it pull up a fair number of meals from the submerged mud
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Lateral view of a female Eastern Curlew taking a mud crab (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

eastcrl_20160921_2.m4a	(NE NSW)	Warning call (human)	© MD
eastcrl_20160921.m4a	(NE NSW)	Warning calls (human)	© MD

More Eastern Curlew sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.