Curlew Sandpiper

The Curlew Sandpiper is an elegant, long-legged wader named for its bill, which curves downward evenly along its length like a miniature version of a curlew's. This gentle curve, combined with longer legs than most similar species, gives the bird a graceful, attenuated silhouette.

Breeding adults are strikingly beautiful, with a rich brick-red or chestnut color covering the head, neck, breast, and much of the upperparts — a plumage shared by no other common small sandpiper. Nonbreeding birds are much plainer, pale gray above and white below, similar to a Dunlin but distinguished by bill shape, leg length, and a clean white rump visible in flight.

Key field marks

• Long bill with an even downward curve along its entire length
• Rich brick-red/chestnut plumage in breeding season — unique among common small sandpipers
• White rump visible in flight (unlike Dunlin's gray rump)
• Longer legs than Dunlin, giving a more elegant stance
• Pale gray upperparts, white underparts in nonbreeding plumage

Similar species

• Dunlin: shorter, less evenly curved bill with more droop concentrated near the tip, gray (not white) rump, and shorter legs; nonbreeding Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin can look quite similar and require careful comparison of rump color and leg length.
• Red Knot: much larger and stockier, with a short, straight bill.

Habitat

Curlew Sandpipers favor coastal mudflats, estuaries, and adjacent wetlands, often mixing with Dunlin and other small sandpipers.

Range and migration

They breed on remote tundra in Siberia and migrate long distances to winter mainly in Africa, South Asia, and Australia, with smaller numbers wintering elsewhere. The species occurs as a rare but regular vagrant in North America and Europe outside its core breeding range.

Behavior

Curlew Sandpipers often forage alongside Dunlin and other sandpipers, wading into slightly deeper water than many of their relatives thanks to their longer legs.

Voice

The flight call is a soft, rippling "chirrup" or trilling "kirrik," distinct from the harsher calls of Dunlin.

Feeding

They probe deeply into soft mud and shallow water for insects, small crustaceans, and mollusks, using their long, curved bill to reach prey other shorebirds might miss.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs nest on the ground on remote Arctic tundra in Siberia, in a shallow scrape typically lined with lichen; clutch size is usually four eggs, and incubation is shared, though details of breeding biology are less well studied than for many other Arctic shorebirds due to the remoteness of the breeding range.