Curlew

Scientific name: Numenius arquata
Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
UK conservation status: Red
Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Curlew call audio

Key information

The curlew is the largest European wading bird, instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.

What they eat:

Worms, shellfish and shrimps.

Measurements:

Length:: 50-60cm

Wingspan:: 80-100cm

Weight:: 575-1,000g (Females averaging 1,000g and males averaging 770g)

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

UK breeding:: 66,000 pairs

UK wintering:: 140,000 individuals

Identifying features:

Curlew

Feather colour: Brown Cream/buff Grey White

Leg colour: Blue

Beak: Black Brown Red Long Curved Thin

Natural habitats: Farmland Grassland Marine and intertidal Upland Wetland

Similar birds:

Whimbrel

Where and when to see them

The curlew can be seen around the whole UK coastline with the largest concentrations of found at Morecambe Bay, the Solway Firth, the Wash, and the Dee, Severn, Humber and Thames estuaries. Greatest breeding numbers are found in N Wales, the Pennines, the southern uplands and E Highlands of Scotland and the Northern Isles.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Resident
Passage
Summer
Winter

Curlews can be seen all year round. Look for them in their breeding habitat from April to July. Coastal numbers build up from July and reach a peak in January and February.

RSPB reserves

Video

Footage of a curlew in its natural habitat.

Marshside

Lytchett Fields

Arne

Curlew

Curlew call audio