Little Curlew
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| Little Curlew | ||||||||||||||
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| Numenius minutus Gould,, 1841 |
The Little Curlew, Numenius minutus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It is a very small curlew, which breeds in the far north of Siberia. It is closely related to the North American Eskimo Curlew.
This is a strongly migratory species, wintering in Australasia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
This bird breeds in loose colonies in forest clearings in river valleys. The nest is a ground scrape. It winters inland, mainly in northern Australia, on grassland, cultivation or near fresh water. It is gregarious, forming sizeable flocks. This species feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates.
This is a tiny curlew, not as large as a Golden Plover, but unmistakably a member of that group of waders.
It is mainly greyish brown, including the underwings, with a white belly, and a short, for a curlew, curved bill. It has a head pattern like a Whimbrel, with crown and supercilaiary stripes. The call is a repetitive whistle.
Reference
Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-7099-2034-2