Curlew

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The curlews (Template:IPAc-en) are a group of nine 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".<ref name=OED>Template:Cite OED</ref> In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).

Description

They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills.<ref name=Thomas>Template:Cite journal</ref> Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items.

Distribution

File:Oulunsalo.vaakuna.svg

The Eurasian curlew pictured in the coat of arms of Oulunsalo, a former municipality of North Ostrobothnia, Finland

Curlews enjoy a worldwide distribution. Most species exhibit strong migratory habits and consequently one or more species can be encountered at different times of the year in Europe, Ireland, Britain, Iberia, Iceland, Africa, Southeast Asia, Siberia, North America, South America and Australasia.

The distribution of curlews has altered considerably in the past hundred years as a result of changing agricultural practices. For instance, Eurasian curlew populations have suffered due to draining of marshes for farmland, whereas long-billed curlews have shown an increase in breeding densities around areas grazed by livestock.<ref>Encyclopedia of the Animal World (1977): Vol.6: 518–519. Bay Books, Sydney.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:As of, there were only a small number of Eurasian curlews still breeding in Ireland, raising concerns that the bird will become extinct in that country.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

The stone-curlews are not true curlews (family Scolopacidae) but members of the family Burhinidae, which is in the same order Charadriiformes, but only distantly related within that.

Taxonomy

The genus Numenius was erected by the French scientist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his Ornithologie published in 1760.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The type species is the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus had introduced the genus Numenius in the 6th edition of his Systema Naturae published in 1748,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but Linnaeus dropped the genus in the important tenth edition of 1758 and put the curlews together with the woodcocks in the genus Scolopax.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As the publication date of Linnaeus's sixth edition was before the 1758 starting point of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, Brisson and not Linnaeus is considered as the authority for the genus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name Numenius is from Ancient Greek noumenios, a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlews because it appears to be derived from neos, "new" and mene "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill.<ref name=job>Template:Cite book</ref>

The genus contains nine species:<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Species table

The following cladogram shows the genetic relationships between the species. It is based on a study published in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Late Eocene (Montmartre Formation, some 35 mya) fossil Limosa gypsorum of France was originally placed in Numenius and may in fact belong there.<ref>Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section X.D.2.b. Scolopacidae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 174–175. Academic Press, New York.</ref> Apart from that, a Late Pleistocene curlew from San Josecito Cave, Mexico has been described.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This fossil was initially placed in a distinct genus, Palnumenius, but was actually a chronospecies or paleosubspecies related to the long-billed curlew.

The upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) is an odd bird which is the closest relative of the curlews.<ref name=Thomas/> It is distinguished from them by its yellow legs, long tail, and shorter, less curved bill.

Further reading

• Template:Cite book (originally published in 1954)
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