Far Eastern curlew

Far Eastern curlew
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Numenius
Species:
N. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Numenius madagascariensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms[2]

Scolopax madagascariensis Linnaeus, 1766
Numenius cyanopus Vieillot, 1817
Numenius australis Gould, 1838
Numenius rostratus Gray, 1843

The Far Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing. It is not only the largest curlew but probably the world's largest sandpiper, at 60–66 cm (24–26 in) in length and 110 cm (43 in) across the wings.[3] The body is reportedly 565–1,150 g (1.246–2.535 lb), which may be equaled by the Eurasian curlew.[4] The extremely long bill, at 12.8–20.1 cm (5.0–7.9 in) in length, rivals the bill size of the closely related long-billed curlew as the longest bill for a sandpiper.[3]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Numenius madagascariensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22693199A118601473. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22693199A118601473.en. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  2. ^ Australian Biological Resources Study (12 February 2010). "Species Numenius (Numenius) madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b Marchant, John; Hayman, Peter; Prater, Tony (1986). Shorebirds. London, UK: Christopher Helm. pp. 320–321. ISBN 978-0-7136-3509-6.
  4. ^ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.