Curlew bird is one of the brightest representatives of the snipe family. A distinctive feature of this creature is a long beak bent down, with the help of which the bird searches for food in the muddy bottom. Currently, about 130 species of curlew are distinguished, among them stands out numenius arquata.
Coloring
The bird, which will be discussed in this article, has a beautiful color. Curlew is a rather cute creature with brownish-gray feathers that retain their color throughout the year. They may contain black-brown spots of large sizes, as well as ocher or light borders. The top of the head, as well as the front of the back, is slightly darker than the neck. On the back of the back are pure white feathers with rich brown spots.
Above the eyes is a bright streak. The bottom of the body is painted in an ocher shade. On the chest, neck and sides are longitudinal stripes. In some individuals, a triangle pattern on the side of the abdomen can be observed. The chin and lower tail coverts are completely white. The tail is motley. The tip of the beak is black, the base is brownish, the mandible has a reddish hue. Legs are dark lead or grayish. Since the lower feathers on the wings are white, the bird looks light during flight.
Young curlews are more buffy, and they also have a very short beak compared to adults. The chicks are dirty white or yellow; dark stripes are located on the back. On the lower part of the body, the streaks are narrow, longitudinal.
Dimensions
Curlew is a large bird, which is clear from the name. On average, the weight of individuals ranges from 0.6-1 kg. The body length from beak to tail is from 50 to 60 cm. The wingspan is large - from 80 to 100 cm. Despite the fact that males and females do not have color differences, gender can be determined by size. Females are usually larger than males. In addition, they have a longer beak. Young individuals also have a rather short beak compared to adult birds.
Vote
Curlew bird description will be incomplete if you do not talk about the voice of this creature. In flocks, birds have echoed sonorous “kuu-li”, and also make sounds similar to “kuu-li”. An alarm cry is used when the nesting area is in danger. They sound "kuuu-s", while the emphasis falls on the sound "s". If enemies attacked the chicks, then adults shout "jail."
Spread
The area of the Curlew bird is Central and Northern Europe. In addition, representatives of this species are found in the British Isles. Curlews can be seen on the Asian continent. Here they live in vast territories starting in Kyrgyzstan and ending in Manchuria and near Lake Baikal.
Curlew is a migratory bird that migrates in the winter to the Mediterranean, Africa, or the Atlantic coast. Representatives of this species prefer marshland. It is in such areas that they build their nests. In the winter season, they migrate deep into the mainland and look for flood fields, meadows and watts to build nests there.
Lifestyle
Curlew bird is an adherent of a social lifestyle. Numerous flocks are not uncommon. At the nesting sites, individuals fly in pairs, singly or as part of a flock. In central Russia, the nesting period begins in April, in the steppe regions in March, and in the northern regions in May. Almost immediately after arrival, the current begins. The male rises upward, as if by a ladder, emits a sonorous whistle and after that plans above the ground. This movement is repeated several times.
Nesting occurs near water. Curlews live in pairs or packs. Despite their peace and social lifestyle, they are ready to the last to protect the borders of the settlement. They are characterized by nesting conservatism. This means that each year individuals return to the same territory.
Nest
Curlew nest (photo of the bird you can see in this article) is represented by a shallow hole, covered with grass or located openly. At the bottom there is a lining of dry leaves, fragments of branches, as well as other natural material. In clutch, as a rule, from 2 to 4 eggs. They are painted in green, blue, olive or grayish tint. On them you can notice spots of brown and brown. Eggs vary in size, spots can have different intensities and densities.
Two adult individuals hatch the masonry, alternately replacing each other for 28 or 30 days. They are very careful. If they feel danger, they begin to circle around a predator or a person, and at the same time they make alarming cries. Smaller opponents, such as other birds, they attack and expel from the nesting area. At the 6th week of life, birds begin to fly, after which flocks are formed with grown chicks.
Nutrition
Curlew (photo of a bird is presented in this article) uses a long curved beak for the extraction of worms, mollusks, snails and other animals living in sand and silt. During the wintering season, birds hunt in shallow water. At this time, they feed on fish fry and shrimp. In algae washed ashore, they search for crabs through the sensitive end of their beak. At the nesting place, their diet includes earthworms, medium-sized frogs, insects and their larvae, as well as all kinds of mollusks. In the warm season, curlews are looking for various bugs in the fields and meadows.
The main tool that birds use to find food is their beak. Thanks to its length, they can get food underground. Curlew vision is not very well developed.
Cursed Long-billed Curlew
Curlews include another species of bird - long-billed. Its representatives are slightly different from curlews. They live in the territory of North America. Coastal sites are chosen for nesting. They spend winter near the water. Chicks are born on pastures, nests are hidden in the grass. The beak of representatives of this species is considered to be very long and is second only in size to the beak of the Far Eastern curlew. In the female, it is slightly larger, rounded at the base, and a bend is better expressed at the tip.
Security
At present, bird defenders are alarmed by the fact that the number of curlew population is declining rapidly. This is facilitated by the drainage of swamps, excess moisture in the lowlands, the development of vast lands to create arable land, as well as the destruction of the natural habitat of birds for subsistence farming. All this leads to a decrease in the number of territories suitable for nesting.
As mentioned earlier, adult birds return to the same place. And if sexually mature individuals are able to protect themselves, or at least hide from the enemy, then walking on arable land for chicks can be dangerous. Machining of the fields usually begins before the chicks get on the wing. They are trying to hide in thickets of grass, because they can’t fly away from the dangerous territory. As a result, they die, because they have nowhere to hide.
There is a solution to this problem. It is necessary to mow the grass in parallel rows, leaving strips of tall grass between them. They would be an ideal shelter for Curlew chicks.