The curlew is a very large, tall wader, about the same size as a female pheasant. Its haunting display call ('cur-lee') is unmistakable and can be heard from February through to July on its breeding grounds - wet grasslands, farmland, heath and moorlands. From July onwards, coastal numbers start to build up, peaking in January.
How to identify
Curlew are mottled brown and grey, with long, bluish legs and a long, downcurved bill that is pink underneath. It can be distinguished from the smaller whimbrel by the longer bill and plain head pattern. When they fly, curlew have a white wedge on the rump.
Did you know?
An old Scottish name for the curlew is 'whaup' or 'great whaup'. Its evocative call has been immortalised in the poem, The Seafarer, which dates back to 1,000 AD, but may be even older: "I take my gladness in the... sound of the curlew instead of the laughter of men".
