Numenius arquata
Europe's largest wading bird, with an unmistakable long, downcurved bill.
Size: 50-60 cm | Habitat: Sea, Marsh, Estuary & Shoreline Birds | Season: All year
Britain's largest wader, the curlew is a large, streaky brown bird with long legs and a very long, downcurved bill. Its haunting, bubbling call is one of the most evocative sounds of British estuaries and moorland.
Large size, streaky brown plumage · very long, downcurved bill · long legs · white rump visible in flight · loud, bubbling "cur-lee" call
Curlews use their long bill to probe deep into mud or soil for worms and other invertebrates, breeding on moorland, rough grassland, and bogs before moving to estuaries and coasts for the winter.
The curlew's evocative call gave the bird its name, and its extraordinary bill — up to 15cm long in females — lets it reach prey buried far deeper than most other waders can manage.
The Curlew (Numenius arquata) is Britain's largest wading bird, streaky brown with long legs and an extraordinarily long, downcurved bill, its haunting, bubbling call one of the most evocative sounds of British moorland and estuaries.
Curlews breed on moorland, rough grassland, and bogs, using their long bill — up to 15cm in females — to probe deep into soil for worms and invertebrates buried far beyond the reach of most other waders, before moving to estuaries and coasts for the winter.
The UK's curlew population fell by 42% between 1995 and 2008, and the country's breeding population is of major international importance, representing over 30% of the entire west European population — making UK conservation efforts here globally significant, not just locally.
🔴 Conservation status: Red (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Red-listed under BoCC5 since 2015 following a severe UK-wide population decline, driven by loss of breeding habitat and high predation of eggs and chicks on remaining sites.