| Curlew | |
|---|---|
| |
| Long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus) Fishing Pier, Goose Island State Park, Texas | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Numenius Brisson, 1760 |
| Type species | |
| Scolopax arquata Linnaeus, 1758
| |
| Species | |
|
N. phaeopus | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Palnumenius Miller, 1942 | |
The curlews (/ˈkɜːrljuː/) are a group of nine species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French corliu, "messenger", from courir , "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre".[1] In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata).
- ^ "Curlew". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)