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Little Curlew
(Numenius minutus)
: "Pygmy Curlew", "Little Whimbrel"
Size: 28-36 cm; wing span 65-75 cm
Weight: 120-210 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Little Curlews are the smallest curlews. They have
a brownish-grey, lightly streaked head, neck and chest, with two
parallel dark-brown stripes running the length of the cap.
The belly and vent are creamy, while the wings are boldly
scalloped light and dark grey-brown. The uppertail is barred.
When in
eclipse, the plumage
shows less rufous-brown tints than during the breeding season.
The plumage is
cryptic, i.e.
camouflaged, against the background of a mudflat.
The dark-grey bill is quite long and curved downwards, with a
lighter, pinkish base of the lower mandible.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared to other members of
the Numenius family, they are the by far smallest species and
have the shortest bill (in absolute terms, but also compared to
the size of the head).
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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Little
Curlew at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
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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 Little Curlew is available
HERE
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Little Curlews are an highly migratory species.
Their breeding grounds are located in the far North of Siberia.
Some migrate to spend the northern winters in parts of South-east
Asia, but the majority fly even farther, to Australia.
(The absence of reports from Siberia is most likely due to the
absence of reporting birdwatchers, rather than birds.)
Little Curlews are migrants to Australia from the North. They are
found regularly only in the far North of the continent, from the
Kimberley in WA through the Top End of the NT to the region South
of the Gulf of Carpentaria, i.e. the catchments of the Leichhardt
River and the Gilbert River, including Mt. Isa, QLD. Across the
rest of the continent, they are found only occasionaly. They do
not venture into the great sandy deserts of eastern WA, the
south-western NT and the western part of SA.
Outside the breeding season Little Curlews are mostly found in
open grassland
(including urban environments such as lawns and sports grounds) and
mudflats, e.g.
around (ephemeral)
water surfaces.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
We have spotted a single Little Curlew at
Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km South
of Gunnedah, NSW, in late October 2011, when the lake had been full
of water for about half a year.
No Little Curlew had been spotted at this location during several
earlier visits and none have been seen there again until the lake
eventually dried up.
B. Hensen reports spotting a Little Curlew near
Fogg Dam CR,
Top End, NT, in March 2013.
B. Hensen also found two Little Curlews near Newell Beach, QLD, in
November 2018.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a Little Curlew (left) and with its head
turned (right), in non-breeding plumage
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
Lateral view of a Little Curlew in
grassland
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Near Fogg Dam CR,
Top End, NT, March 2013]
Lateral view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
Dorsal view of the same Little Curlew as shown above
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo
courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
Here a size comparison with a Masked Lapwing (photo
courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
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Food, Diet |
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Little Curlews feed on small invertebrates that they dig out of mud.
Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage feeding in a mudflat
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
