The Little Curlew is the smallest curlew and has a long thin neck. The small head has a short, slender bill, downcurved at the tip and pink on the underside.There is a dark crown, with a pale buff brow line over large eyes. The body is mainly warm brown, heavily marked, with a streaked buff breast and light underbody. The legs are medium length. When alarmed, they either stand tall and erect or crouch in the grass. The female is slightly larger than the male. It is also called Little Whimbrel and Pygmy or Baby Curlew.
Not Threatened.
The Little Curlew is the smallest curlew and has a long thin neck. The small head has a short, slender bill, downcurved at the tip and pink on the underside.There is a dark crown, with a pale buff brow line over large eyes. The body is mainly warm brown, heavily marked, with a streaked buff breast and light underbody. The legs are medium length. When alarmed, they either stand tall and erect or crouch in the grass. The female is slightly larger than the male. It is also called Little Whimbrel and Pygmy or Baby Curlew.
28-31 cm, 175 g
Taxonomy:
- Numenius minutus Gould, 1841, New South Wales. Forms superspecies with N. borealis, with which formerly considered conspecific. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Distribution:
- N & C Yakutia, from S slopes of Putorana Mts E to R Anabar, and Verkhoyansk and Cherski Mts on upper R Yana and R Indigirka as far E as R Anyuy, along Siberian coast. Winters in New Guinea and Australia.
May gather in large flocks on coastal and inland grasslands and black soil plains in northern Australia, near swamps and flooded areas. They also feed on playing fields, paddocks and urban lawns.
eats mainly insects, as well as seeds and berries, walking along slowly, picking and probing at the ground.
breed in Siberia, in open areas in birch woodlands, along valleys of small rivers. They nest in colonies, often near the nest of Golden Eagles. Males have display flights like other curlews, giving their distinctive calls. Both parents share incubation, in a nest in a shallow depression in the open, lined with grass. Breeding season: May to August Clutch size: Four. Incubation: 23 days