Eurasian Curlew

Voice

The name is in the call: a plaintive, far-carrying cur-lew. On the breeding grounds the male performs a song flight with a swelling bubbling trill that runs into a long, joyous rolling — one of the finest sounds of the European spring.

Identification

Large, bulky to elegant wader with uniformly brown-streaked plumage and a very long, evenly decurved bill — noticeably longer in females than in males. In flight the white wedge up the back stands out, together with the slow, stately wingbeats.

Confusion species

Whimbrel: smaller, with a shorter and more abruptly kinked bill, obvious pale crown stripes framed by dark lateral crown stripes, and a completely different call (a fast, even ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti). Bar-tailed Godwit has a slightly upturned bill and a more compact build.

Habitat

Breeds on raised bog, wet heath, dune slacks and herb-rich damp grassland with a high water table. Outside the breeding season on tidal flats, mudflats and saltmarsh, roosting at high-tide roosts.

Range and movements

Breeds from western Europe to Siberia. The Netherlands matters internationally above all as a wintering area: the Wadden Sea and the south-western Delta hold large numbers of birds from Scandinavia and Russia in winter.

• Resident
• Breeding (summer)
• Winter
• Passage
• Migration direction
• dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Where and when to look

For the song flight: March and April around sunrise over damp grassland and bog. For numbers: the Wadden Sea on a rising tide, when birds are pushed towards a high-tide roost — two hours before high water at a good vantage point is ideal.

Conservation status

Near Threatened globally (IUCN) and one of the most worrying meadow birds in the Netherlands. Earlier and more frequent mowing, drainage, field enlargement and high predation pressure mean too few chicks fledge; conservation focuses on delayed mowing dates and raised water levels.