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Little Curlew

Numenius minutusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: LICU Scientific Name: NUMMIN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176606
Least Concern
 
Little Curlew
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Overview

Little Curlew: Medium curlew, brown-streaked upperparts, white throat, dark-streaked gray breast, and white belly. Head has brown crown, white eyebrows. Bill is short and slightly down-curved. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Forages in grassy fields. Bouyant direct flight with steady, rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Little Curlew: Very rare species; breeds in central and northeast Siberia and winters mainly in northern Australia; casual fall vagrant to coastal California. Breeds in open woodlands in river valleys; otherwise found on grasslands, cultivated areas, and around margins of ponds and lakes, less often on coasts.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Voice Text

"quee-dlee", "tchew-tchew-tchew"

Interesting Facts

 The Little Curlew is also called Little Whimbrel and Pygmy or Baby Curlew.

 It is the smallest curlew.

 When alarmed, they either stand tall and erect or crouch in the grass.

 A group of curlews has many collective nouns, including a "curfew", "game", "head", "salon", and "skein" of curlews.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Imran Kahn

Splitbar
Range Map for Little Curlew

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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Numenius minutus
Length12 - 14 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Little Curlew

Little Curlew: Medium curlew, brown-streaked upperparts, white throat, dark-streaked gray breast, and white belly. Head has brown crown, white eyebrows. Bill is short and slightly down-curved. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Forages in grassy fields. Bouyant direct flight with steady, rapid wing beats.

● Song: "quee-dlee", "tchew-tchew-tchew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Little Curlew: Feeds mainly on insects; also eats worms and berries.

● Breeding & nesting: Little Curlew: Four brown marked, light to dark green or blue eggs are laid in a ground depression lined with dry grass. Incubation ranges from 23 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Little Curlew: Whimbrel has longer, more curved bill and dark lores.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Little Curlew Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Little Curlew: Very rare species; breeds in central and northeast Siberia and winters mainly in northern Australia; casual fall vagrant to coastal California. Breeds in open woodlands in river valleys; otherwise found on grasslands, cultivated areas, and around margins of ponds and lakes, less often on coasts.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationRare
MigrationMigratory
Weight12.4 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
CrownX
The crown is the top part of the birds head.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX