Family: Scolopacidae, Sandpipers view all from this family

Description 23" (58 cm). A large curlew, warm brown and buff below, with cinnamon wing linings, no head pattern, and very long, sickle-shaped bill.

Habitat Breeds on plains and prairies; on migration frequents lake and river shores, mudflats, salt marshes, and sandy beaches.

Nesting 4 olive-buff eggs, spotted with brown, in a grass-lined nest in a hollow on the ground.

Range Breeds from southern Canada to northern California, Utah, northern New Mexico, and Texas. Winters from California, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida southward.

Voice   A clear curleee; a sharp whit-whit, whit, whit, whit, whit.

Discussion Our largest shorebird, the "Sicklebill" was once a plentiful game bird of the Great Plains and the formerly extensive prairies to the east. Its prolonged, musical whistles carry far, signaling the birds' arrival in spring. While they incubate, their warm colors blend with the brown grass, making them difficult to detect. On grasslands, they consume grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles; on shores and beaches during migration, they feast on small crustaceans and mollusks or on berries and seeds. Curlews are sociable birds when feeding, roosting, and migrating. The bill of this species looks almost as long as the body, whereas in the smaller Whimbrel the bill is only about the length of the head and neck.