Curlews
Numenius
The curlews () are a group of eight species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French corliu, "messenger", from courir, "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre". (Fish [are made] to live in the flood [water], the curlew by nature of the air.) In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).
9 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 8 known species
Hudsonian Whimbrel
speciesNumenius hudsonicus
Eurasian Curlew
speciesNumenius arquata
Long-billed Curlew
speciesNumenius americanus
Eurasian Whimbrel
speciesNumenius phaeopus
Far Eastern Curlew
speciesNumenius madagascariensis
Bristle-thighed Curlew
speciesNumenius tahitiensis
Little Curlew
speciesNumenius minutus
Eskimo Curlew
speciesNumenius borealis
Slender-billed Curlew
speciesNumenius tenuirostris
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the old herbals & bestiaries
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Every page naming Numenius in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 3894.