Whimbrel

Whimbrel adult

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

One of the most wide-ranging shorebirds in the world, the Whimbrel breeds in the Arctic in the eastern and western hemispheres, and migrates to South America, Africa, south Asia, and Australia. It uses its long, down-curved bill to probe deep in the sand of beaches for invertebrates, but also feeds on berries and insects.

Description

• Large shorebird.
• Long, down-curved bill.
• Long neck.
• Long legs.
• Streaked and buffy overall.
• Crown dark with a distinct light stripe in the middle.

• Size: 44 cm (17 in)
• Weight: 310-493 g (10.94-17.4 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar in plumage, but female larger on average.

Sound

A loud, rolling twitter. Displaying Whimbrel also utters a low whistle, sometimes repeated and/or followed by a trill.

Conservation Status

Numbers declined sharply during 19th century, because of hunting for sport and food. No definitive information is available on current population trends. The greatest current threat to the species is loss of coastal wetland habitat; environmental contamination, including cadmium wastes from mining in Chile, also poses increasing risks to the species.

Other Names

Courlis corlieu (French)
Zarapito trinador (Spanish)
Hudsonian Curlew (English)

Cool Facts

• Some migrating Whimbrels make a nonstop flight of 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from southern Canada or New England to South America.
• Four distinct subspecies of Whimbrel are recognized: one breeds in North America, one from Iceland to northwest Siberia, one in southern Russia, and one in eastern Siberia. The American form was formerly considered a separate species, the Hudsonian Curlew. Whereas the Eurasian forms have white backs, and some white rumps, the American form has a brown rump and back.

• In many regions, the primary winter food of the Whimbrel is crab. The curve of the Whimbrel's bill nicely matches the shape of fiddler crab burrows. The bird reaches into the crab's burrow, extracts the crab, washes it if it is muddy, and sometimes breaks off the claws and legs before swallowing it. Indigestible parts are excreted in fecal pellets.

Sources used to construct this page:

Skeel, M. A., and E. P. Mallory. 1996. Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). In The Birds of North America, No. 219 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.