The Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis), also known as northern curlew, is a species of curlew in the family Scolopacidae. It was one of the most numerous shorebirds in the tundra of western Arctic Canada and Alaska. Thousands of birds were then killed per year in the late 1800s. As there has not been a reliable sighting since 1987 or a confirmed sighting since 1963, the Eskimo curlew is considered Critically Endangered or possibly extinct. The bird is about long and feeds mostly on insects and berries.

thumb|220x124px | right

Taxonomy

thumb|Illustration (middle) by [[Louis Agassiz Fuertes]]

The Eskimo curlew is one of eight species of curlew, classed with them in the genus Numenius. It has occasionally been placed in the separate genus Mesoscolopax. Numenius is classed in the family Scolopacidae. Other groups in that family include woodcocks, phalaropes, snipes, and sandpipers. Scolopacidae is a Charadriiform lineage.

The species was described by Johann Reinhold Forster in 1772. The generic name has three possible etymologies. One is that it comes from the Greek "noumenios". "Noumenios" means "of the new moon", the thin beak of curlews being compared to a thin crescent moon. A second possibility is that the genus name is derived from the word numen, meaning "nod", and referring to curlews' heads being bent forward and down. The final possibility is that Numenius is a Latinized form of the Greek noumenios, which was the word Diogenes Laërtius used to refer to a species of curlew. The specific name "borealis" is Latin for "northern".

This species has many common names. It has been named doe-bird or doughbird, fute, little curlew, and prairie pigeon. The first two names come from its fatness during early migration south.

Description

thumb| Specimen in [[Laval University Library]]

Eskimo curlews are small curlews, about in length, weighing approximately , and having a wingspan of . Adults have long dark greyish legs and a long bill curved slightly downward. The upperparts are mottled brown and the underparts are light brown. They show cinnamon wing linings in flight. They are similar in appearance to the Hudsonian whimbrel, but smaller in size.

In the field, the only certain way to distinguish the Eskimo curlew is confirmation of its unbarred undersides of the primaries.

The Eskimo curlew forms a species pair with the Asian little curlew (Numenius minutus), but is slightly larger, longer-winged, shorter legged, and warmer in plumage tone than its Asian relative.

Distribution and habitat

The Eskimo curlew is a New World bird. Members of this species bred on the tundra of western Arctic Canada and Alaska.

Eskimo curlews migrated to the Pampas of Argentina in the late summer and returned in February.

Ecology and behaviour

thumb|Eskimo curlew by [[Archibald Thorburn]]

Diet

Eskimo curlews pick up food by sight, and feed by probing. They eat mostly berries while on the fall migration in Canada. During the rest of their migration and on the breeding grounds, they eat insects. Snails and other invertebrates (including the extinct Rocky Mountain locust) also are part of their diet during migration.

Reproduction

Nesting probably occurs in June. Nests are in open areas on the ground and are difficult to find. They are made of wisps of dried grass or leaves. The eggs are green with brown splotches.

Probable extinction

thumb|Specimen in the [[Museum of Comparative Zoology]]

At one time, the Eskimo curlew may have been one of the most numerous shorebirds in North America, with a population in the millions. As many as 2 million birds per year were killed near the end of the nineteenth century. The last confirmed sightings were in 1962 on Galveston Island, Texas (where it was photographed), and on Barbados in 1963 (where a specimen was collected). There was a reliable report of 23 birds in Texas in 1981, and a few dozen additional unconfirmed reports from scattered locales (the Northwest Territories, Texas, Ontario, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Argentina, Guatemala, Labrador, New Jersey, and North Carolina) between 1964 and 2006. No confirmed record of this species has been reported in South America since 1939. It has been suggested that the species not be treated as extinct until all possible remaining habitats have been surveyed and incidental sightings have ceased, and an assessment of critically endangered (possibly extinct) be adopted in the meantime.

This species is fully protected in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Hunting has been outlawed since around 1916.

thumb|Illustration by [[John James Audubon]]

The plight of this bird inspired the novel (and subsequent Emmy Award-winning 1972 ABC Afterschool Special) Last of the Curlews.

The "Esquimaux Curlew" appears as plate CCCLVII of Audubon's Birds of America.

References

Further reading

  • del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors) (1996): Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. .
  • National Geographic Society (2002): Field Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic, Washington, D.C. .
  • BirdLife Species Factsheet.
  • USGS Eskimo curlew site
  • "Where Have All the Curlews Gone?" by Paul Johnsgard
  • Photographs of the 1962 Texas sighting