CURLEW  

The curlew, Numenius, is a shorebird of the sandpiper family, Scolopacida. It has a long, downcurved bill and is usually mottled, with brown, gray, or buff stripes. The curlew inhabits marshes, beaches, mudflats, and prairies. The whimbrel, N. phaeopus, formerly called the Hudsonian curlew, is a migrant of almost worldwide distribution. About 43 cm (17 in) long, it is distinguished by its bold head striping. The larger (61 cm/24 in), buff-colored, long-billed curlew, N. americanus, inhabits western North and Central America; its bill length varies but may exceed one-third of the bird's total length. Curlews feed on small aquatic life on the beaches, and on insects and seeds in the grasslands. The Eskimo curlew, of the west coast of the Americas, may recently have become extinct.