- Numenius minutus
Identification
28–34 cm (11-13¼ in)
- Greyish-brown, including the underwings
- White belly
- Short, curved bill
Distribution
Breeds Siberia; winters to Philippines, Indonesia and northern Australia.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Forest clearings in river valleys, grassy wetlands, lagoons and billabongs. They breed in montane taiga.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is a ground scrape, lined with grass. Their clutch contains 3-4 eggs; both adults incubate the eggs for 22-23 days. Fledging occurs after 5 weeks.
Diet
Their varied diet consists of insects, including small invertebrates, grasshoppers, ants, crickets, beetles, weevils, caterpillars and spiders etc. They also eat some vegetable matter such as seeds, rice husks and berries.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Van Gils, J., P. Wiersma, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Little Curlew (Numenius minutus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.litcur.01
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Little Curlew. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Little_Curlew
External Links
