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8

Little Curlew (Numenius minutus) Alternate name(s): "Pygmy Curlew", "Little Whimbrel" Size: 28-36 cm; wing span 65-75 cm Weight: 120-210 g

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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 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. Twitcher's tip 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Little 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 Little Curlew is available HERE . 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. in ephemeral wetlands.

Sightings 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. M. Eaton spotted 5 Little Curlews at Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, in October 2019. In February 2023, we found a flock of at least 50 Little Curlews in an ephemeral wetland ca. 30 km S of Mungindi, NSW. At the same location up to 90 Little Curlews had been counted by other observers at the time. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting a Little Curlew at Edmonton, Cairns, QLD, in November 2020.

Photos

ADULT

NON-BREEDING

Distant frontal view of a Little Curlew (left) and with its head turned (right), in non-breeding plumage
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, October 2011]

Frontal/near-lateral view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Edmonton, Cairns, QLD, November 2020]

Frontal/near-lateral view of Little Curlews in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, October 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Edmonton, Cairns, QLD, November 2020]

Lateral view of two Little Curlews in non-breeding plumage in dry grassland (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, October 2019]

Lateral view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage 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 (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, October 2019]

Lateral view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atkinson Dam, near Lowood, QLD, October 2019]

Dorsal view of a Little Curlew
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, October 2011]

Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, October 2011]

Little Curlew in comparison with a Masked Lapwing (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, October 2011]

Behaviour

Although rarely seen in large numbers, Little Curlews can form substantial flocks outside the breeding season.

Close-up view of part of a flock of 50 Little Curlews in an ephemeral wetland
[Ca. 30 km S of Mungindi, NSW, February 2023]

Flock of 50 Little Curlews (and a few smaller waders) in an ephemeral wetland
[Ca. 30 km S of Mungindi, NSW, February 2023]

Dorsal view of part of a flock of 50 Little Curlews in flight
[Ca. 30 km S of Mungindi, NSW, February 2023]

Flock of 50 Little Curlews, in between other aquatic birds in an ephemeral wetland
[Ca. 30 km S of Mungindi, NSW, February 2023]

Food, Diet

Little Curlews feed on small invertebrates that they dig out of mud.

Little Curlew in non-breeding plumage feeding on a mudflat on the edge of an ephemeral lake
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, 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.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 3 September 2023, 7:51 +00:00