Long-billed Curlew

Graceful and charismatic, Long-billed Curlews may be the most distinctive shorebirds in North America. The bill of an adult is a stunning transformation from that of a hatchling!

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Long-billed Curlews breed far from their wintering grounds in Mexico and coastal areas throughout North America. Every spring, they nest in the grasslands that remain in the Great Basin and the Great Plains. Because curlews depend on very different breeding and wintering environments, changes in either habitat affect them. 

As winter approaches, coastal curlews have made the transition from life on the prairie to life on the shore. They use their exquisite bills to extract small crabs and other food sources from their burrows. They roost in flocks, and when they are disturbed, their loud flight calls attract the attention of their flock mates to the presence of potential predators. 

When spring comes, the cycle will start anew, and Long-billed Curlews will return to the prairies to sing, mate, and nest.

Curlew populations are declining as grassland habitat disappears, but there's a lot we can do to help. If you value BirdNote’s role as a catalyst for conservation, please give to BirdNote today  and support us in telling the stories that educate and inspire listeners of all ages. Together, we can #BringBirdsBack to healthy populations.

Learn more about Long-billed Curlews:

• Check out this blog on the growth of bills in Long-billed Curlews from photographer Mia McPherson
• Listen to this BirdNote show about Long-billed Curlews
• Get the full scoop on the species from Cornell's All About Birds