Stands out as the largest curlew and likely the biggest sandpiper in the world. It appears large even among other waders. Its bill is especially striking: long, thin, and sickle-shaped. The bird’s upper feathers are mostly warm brown, with a streaked neck and breast, and its underparts are brownish-buff with darker streaks that form arrow-shaped marks on the flanks. In flight, you can tell it apart from Eurasian curlews by its plain brown underwings and brown rump, while the Eurasian curlew has a white rump. On the ground, its long, curved bill and long legs make it look a bit unbalanced, almost as if its beak is too big for its body.
This curlew breeds in northeast Asia, mainly in eastern Russia (from Siberia to Kamchatka) and northeastern China, and chooses marshy wetlands, wet meadows, and boggy lake shores. Its nest is a shallow scrape in open, damp ground, lined with some vegetation and usually containing four mottled eggs. During the boreal summer, the breeding grounds are often quiet and remote, with wide sedge meadows, scattered shrubs, and the bubbling calls of curlews overhead. After breeding, adults start their southward migration along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and juveniles follow later.
The Far Eastern curlew’s long bill is perfect for feeding. On the breeding grounds, they probe soft soil and marsh edges for insects, beetle and fly larvae, and other invertebrates, and sometimes eat berries during migration. In their coastal non-breeding areas, they mainly eat marine invertebrates, especially crabs and small shellfish, using their bill to reach deep into soft mud where birds with shorter bills cannot reach. On large estuarine flats, they often spread out at low tide, each bird searching along the water’s edge or in shallow puddles, then gathering in tighter flocks to roost as the tide comes in. Their call is a rich, ringing whistle, “cuuue-reee,” that carries far over open water and mud.
Distribution
Australia
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Christmas Island
East Timor
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Laos
Macao
Malaysia
Micronesia
Mongolia
Myanmar
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Norfolk Island
North Korea
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Russia
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Taiwan
Thailand
Vanuatu
VietnamAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
