Species information

How to identify

Curlew is the largest European wading bird. It has a down-curved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and an evocative a bubbling call. Listen (Credit David Farrow / www.xeno-canto.org)

Life cycle

Like many wading birds, Curlews lay their eggs in a nest on the ground known as a ‘scrape’. The parents incubate the eggs for about four weeks, before the young leave the nest and roam around with their parents for a further four weeks until fledging.

The UK breeding population of curlews is of international importance, with around 30% of the west European population spending winter in the UK. Although curlews still breed in many areas of northern and western Britain, particularly uplands and marginal areas, the range is significantly smaller than it used to be and abundance has decreased almost everywhere. Further south and east there are isolated small populations, such as in the Brecks of East Anglia. Losses in Ireland have been extreme. In winter, UK breeding curlews move to the coast and adjacent farmland, where they are joined by large numbers of migrants from Fennoscandia. Highest densities are on the major estuaries, the Northern Isles and in western Ireland.

Curlew UK distribution map. Credit: RSPB www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/curlew

Habitat and feeding

Preferred habitat for curlew includes mudflats, saltmarsh, rough pasture and heather moorland. They feed on invertebrates such as worms, leatherjackets, insects and marine crustaceans.