Editing Curlew (section)

== Distribution ==
[[File:Oulunsalo.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|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]], [[Great Britain|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 curlew]]s 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>{{cite journal |last1=Cochrane |first1=J. F. |last2=Anderson |first2=S. H. |title=Comparison of habitat attributes at sites of stable and declining Long-billed Curlew populations |journal=Great Basin Naturalist |date=1987 |volume=47 |pages=459–466}}</ref> {{As of|2019}}, 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 [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/6pyVnwJ1jAk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201030094327/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyVnwJ1jAk&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media | author=Christian TV Ireland| date=29 September 2019|title= Mary Colwell- Interview on the almost extinct Curlew bird in Ireland  |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyVnwJ1jAk&t |access-date= 29 September 2019|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The [[stone-curlew]]s 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.