With a bill over a third of its total body length, the Long-billed Curlew has a profile to rival Pinocchio's. This spectacular sandpiper strides gracefully across short grass prairies, tidal flats, and lake edges. Of the world's eight curlew species, five are listed as vulnerable to endangered. Among them, the Long-billed Curlew is distinguished by being the largest shorebird in the world.

The Long-billed Curlew breeds from northeastern New Mexico northward into southern parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Its breeding range extends northwest into northern California. In North America, wintering populations of Long-billed Curlews concentrate in southern Texas, across the border of western Texas and eastern New Mexico, and in parts of California, especially the Imperial Valley.

 

A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.

Since the middle of the 19^th Century, the Long-billed Curlew has suffered severe losses. Breeding Bird Surveys have indicated a continued decline into the 1990s, especially in the Great Plains region. With only 20,000 Long-billed Curlews left, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan both designate this species "highly imperiled," due to its small population size, recent population trends, and threats to its breeding and wintering habitats alike. The Long-billed Curlew is designated as a "monitoring species" in Montana, "vulnerable" in Oregon, South Dakota, and Canada, and a "species of special concern" in Colorado.

At least a third of the Long-billed Curlew's historic breeding range has been destroyed by expansion of croplands, urbanization, or the redirection of water. Although this shorebird breeds in upland habitats, nearby water is important to its survival. One study found that Long-billed Curlews built nests within 100 yards of standing water 41% of the time in southeastern Colorado. When irrigation, global warming, or domestic consumption lowers water tables, Long-billed Curlews have difficulty finding prey. These curlews also face significant threats on the tidal flats, salt marshes, and damp grasslands where they winter. The San Francisco Bay area has lost 85% of its tidal marshes, where an estimated 50% of California's coastal Long-billed Curlews winter.

 

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service have detailed optimal management practices for this shorebird. Among their recommendations are grassland preservation, thoughtful timing of controlled burns, rotational grazing, and reduced pesticide use near breeding sites. The Long-billed Curlew survives well in continuously grazed habitats, with a small break for incubation.

During the long northern winter, look for the conspicuous Long-billed Curlew at one of its warm coastal locations, like the Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex at the Brazoria or San Bernard Refuge.

 

Join a local conservation group to encourage protection of critical grassland habitat, and limited access to these grasslands during migration.

 

Conservation easements can be an effective tool for managing land to benefit the Long-billed Curlew, especially in combination with controlled burns and managed grazing.

 

Conduct and report a migratory shorebird survey according to International Shorebird Survey protocol.

 

For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.

The Fish and Wildlife Management Leaflet #7 (January 2000) offers specific advice and lists programs, reimbursements, and contacts for these management practices.

 

Visit our resources page for more information about this species.

Dechant, J. A., M. L. Sondreal, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, C. M. Goldade, P. A. Rabie, and B. R. Euliss. 2003. Effects of management practices on grassland birds: Long-billed Curlew. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.

 

Dugger, B. D., and K. M. Dugger. 2002. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus). In The Birds of North America, No. 628 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

 

Kaufman, Kenn. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1996.

 

"Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)." Fish and Wildlife Management Leaflet #7 (January 2000) 8 pages.

 

Sibley, David Allen. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

 

U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. 2004. High Priority Shorebirds – 2004. Unpublished Report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MBSP 4107, Arlington, VA 22203 (5 pages).