Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Taxonomy:
View taxonomy in ITISListing Status: Not Listed
General Information
The Long-billed curlew is a large, long-legged shorebird with a very long, decurved bill. Body plumage is rich buff throughout tinged with cinnamon or pink, and with upperparts streaked and barred with dark brown; underwing-lining contrasting cinnamon, and upper surface of remiges contrasting orange-brown. Sexes similar in appearance, but female averages larger with longer bill than male. Juvenile distinguished from adult by wing-coverts, which have dark-brown centers but lack dark-brown barring and pale notches. Juvenal tertials also more brightly marked than in adult, with darker, wider central stripes and cinnamon-buff versus grayish-buff ground color; underparts may also be less prominently streaked than in adults, and bill distinctly shorter, especially in newly fledged birds.References cited in Species Profile
- Allen, J. N. 1980. The ecology and behavior of the Long-billed Curlew in southeastern Washington. Wildl. Monogr. 73:1-67.
- Boland, J. M. 1988. Ecology of North American shorebirds: latitudinal distributions, community structure, foraging behaviors, and interspecific competition. Phd Thesis. Univ. of California, Los Angeles.
- Campbell, R. W., N. K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. M. Cooper, and G. W. Kaiser. 1990.The birds of British Columbia, Vol. 2: diurnal birds of prey through woodpeckers. R. Br. Columbia Mus. Victoria.
- Chandler, R. J. 1989. North Atlantic shorebirds. Facts on File, New York.
- Dugger, Bruce D. and Katie M. Dugger. 2002. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/628
- Fellows, S. D., and S. L. Jones. 2009. Status assessment and conservation action plan for the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus). U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Technical Publication, FWS/BTP-R6012- 2009, Washington, D.C.
- Hooper, T. D. and M. D. Pitt. 1996. Breeding bird communities and habitat associations in the grasslands of the Chilocotin region, British Columbia. Canada-British Columbia Partnership Agreement on Forest Resource Development: FRDA II.
- Jenni, D. A., R. L. Redmond, and T. K. Bicak. 1981. Behavioral ecology and habitat relationships of Long-billed Curlew in western Idaho. Dep. Int. Bur. Land Manage. Boise District, Idaho.
- King, R. 1978. Habitat use and related behaviors of breeding Long-billed Curlews.Master's Thesis. Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins.
- Pampush, G. J. 1980. Status report on the Long-billed Curlew in the Columbia and Northern Great Basins. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Portland, OR.
- Pampush, G. J. and R. G. Anthony. 1993. Nest success, habitat utilization and nest-site selection of Long-billed Curlews in the Columbia Basin, Oregon. Condor 95:957-967.
- Paulson, D. 1993. Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle.
- Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
- Skagen, S. K. and F. L. Knopf. 1993. Toward conservation of mid-continental shorebird migration. Conserv. Biol. 7:533-541.
- Wolfe, L. R. 1931. The breeding Limicolae of Utah. Condor 33:49-59.
» Range Information
Current Range
Current range maps are only shown within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States of America. The species may also occur outside this region.
Wherever found
Listing status: Not Listed
- States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
- US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
- USFWS Refuges in which this population is known to occur:
- Countries in which this population is known to occur: Canada, Mexico, United States
» Candidate Information
No Candidate information available for this species.
No Candidate Assessments available for this species.
No Uplisting Documents currently available for this species.
» Federal Register Documents
» Species Status Assessments (SSAs)
No Species Status Assessments (SSA's) are currently available for this species.
No Special Rule Publications currently available for this species.
» Recovery
No Current Recovery Plans available for this species.
No Other Recovery Documents currently available for this species.
No Five Year Reviews currently available for this species.
No Delisting Documents currently available for this species.
» Critical Habitat
No Critical Habitat Documents currently available for this species.
» Conservation Plans
» Petitions
No Petitions currently available for this species.
» Biological Opinions
To see all FWS Issued Biological Opinions please visit the BO Report.
» Life History
Habitat Requirements
Short-grass or mixed prairie habitat with flat to rolling topography while breeding; tidal estuaries, wet pasture habitats and sandy beaches while wintering; wide range of habitats used during migration. Nests are a shallow depression in the ground, with scraping initiated by male. Nest lining material is variable, but may include small pebbles, bark, grass, small stems and twigs, seeds and cheatgrass leaves as well as droppings from livestock, rabbits and Canada geese.
Food Habits
Entirely carnivorous, feeding on terrestrial insects, marine crustaceans, and benthic invertebrates.
Movement / Home Range
Breeding range covers much of the northwest U.S. and upper Great Plains, as well as southern portions of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Wintering range includes costal and central portions of California, costal Baja California, Texas' Gulf coast, and much of Mexico. Although poorly understood, migration for Long-billed Curlews is described as short distance relative to other Scolopacidae and Numenius breeding in North America.
Other
Pesticides and chemicals, possibly picked up from wintering areas, as well as degradation of habitat threaten Long-billed curlew conservation. Quantitative data on population trends available from BBS beginning in 1966 show a non-significant declining trend up until 1996. However, this trend was not uniform across all of the breeding range; populations in the Great Plains declined while populations west of the Rocky Mountains slightly increased. For more information about this species, refer to the following resource: <li>Fellows, S. D., and S. L. Jones. 2009. Status assessment and conservation action plan for the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus). U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Technical Publication, FWS/BTP-R6012- 2009, Washington, D.C. <a href="http http://www.whsrn.org/sites/default/files/file/Long-billed_Curlew_Plan_-_USFWS_rev_2009_Sept.pdf"> http http://www.whsrn.org/sites/default/files/file/Long-billed_Curlew_Plan_-_USFWS_rev_2009_Sept.pdf</a>
» Other Resources
NatureServe Explorer Species Reports-- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports-- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video." +
