Long-billed Curlew
(Numenius americanus)

Overview

Summary

© Glen Tepke (www.pbase.com/gtepke)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

In Canada, the Long-billed Curlew breeds in short-grass prairie and mixed, intermontane grasslands of British Columbia, Alberta and western Saskatchewan. It was once a common breeder in Manitoba, but is now considered extirpated from the province (Thompson 1891, COSEWIC 2002a). The most recent Breeding Bird Survey results suggest that the population in Canada has shown little overall change relative to 1970. However, the species was designated as Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2002 and reconfirmed as such in 2011 (COSEWIC 2011e, COSEWIC 2002a). The reasons for designation include historic and on-going habitat loss and fragmentation from conversion of native grasslands to agricultural crops, urban development and oil and gas, climate change and other factors. Long-billed Curlews also  face significant threats from habitat loss on both the wintering grounds; ongoing conservation concern is warranted. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Historic declines were likely linked to market hunting, which largely eliminated Long-billed Curlews from migration stopover sites along the east coast of the United States. On the breeding grounds, historic loss of native grasslands led to declines in abundance of breeding birds, especially in the eastern half of the species' former range (Dugger and Dugger 2002). Habitat loss, both on the breeding and the wintering grounds, remains the largest current threat to the species' populations (COSEWIC 2002a) as native grasslands in Canada are lost to agriculture, development, and invasive species, and the wetlands and grasslands used by wintering birds face similar threats. For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2002a. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 31 pp. COSEWIC. 2002a. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 31 pp. (Link)
• COSEWIC. 2011e. COSEWIC Status Appraisal Summary on the Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv pp. COSEWIC. 2011e. COSEWIC Status Appraisal Summary on the Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv pp. (Link)
• Dugger, B.D. and K.M. Dugger. 2002. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Dugger, B.D. and K.M. Dugger. 2002. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Hill, D.P. 1998. Status of the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) in Alberta. Alberta Environmental Protection, Fisheries & Wildlife Management Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 16, Edmonton, Alberta. 20 pp. Hill, D.P. 1998. Status of the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) in Alberta. Alberta Environmental Protection, Fisheries & Wildlife Management Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 16, Edmonton, Alberta. 20 pp. (Link)
• Jones, S.L., C.S. Nations, S.D. Fellows and L.L. McDonald. 2008. Breeding Abundance and Distribution of Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) in North America. Waterbirds 31:1-158. Jones, S.L., C.S. Nations, S.D. Fellows and L.L. McDonald. 2008. Breeding Abundance and Distribution of Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) in North America. Waterbirds 31:1-158. (Link)
• Stanley, T.R. and S.K. Skagen. 2007. Estimating the breeding population of Long-Billed Curlew in the United States. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:2556-2564.
• Thompson, E.E. 1891. The Birds of Manitoba. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 13:457-643. Thompson, E.E. 1891. The Birds of Manitoba. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 13:457-643. (Link)