Long-billed Curlew

On the breeding grounds, the male Long-billed Curlew gives a loud, ringing territorial song during his display flight. This song is a repeated clear whistle that sounds like "cur-LEE, cur-LEE" or extended as "curleeoo"—an onomatopoeic call that gives the bird its name. In enthusiastic display, it can be a bubbling series of notes culminating in the curlew call. These sounds carry across the prairie and are mainly heard in spring during mating displays.

Breeding season (spring and summer) in the Great Plains and intermountain West from southern Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan) to Nevada, Utah, northern Texas Panhandle, etc. After breeding, migrates short to moderate distances to winter mostly in the southern U.S. and Mexico. Many curlews from the interior congregate along the Pacific Coast (California to Washington) or the Gulf Coast and Florida for winter. They are considered short-distance migrants, with most individuals wintering in the southern U.S./northern Mexico (not as far south as South America). By March they begin moving back to prairie breeding grounds. Rarely, some linger on prairies in winter if conditions are mild, but generally a migratory species.

Breeds in open grasslands and prairies of the arid western Great Plains and Great Basin. Nests on the ground in short-grass or mixed-grass prairie, pastures, or sagebrush flats often far from water. Outside the breeding season, moves to coastal habitats, tidal mudflats, estuaries, beaches, as well as inland wetlands and flooded fields. During migration and winter, can also be found on agricultural fields and pastures. Unusual among shorebirds in that it is frequently encountered far from shore during summer (on prairies) and then along coasts in winter.

Breeding activities start in early spring (arrival often by April). Males perform spectacular flight displays over nesting territories, flying up and gliding down in circles while giving their ethereal curlew calls. Nesting occurs April–June; chicks are precocial and leave the nest shortly after hatching in June. By late summer, adults and juveniles move to post-breeding gathering areas and then head to coasts. They form flocks in migration and winter, often mixing with Marbled Godwits. On wintering grounds, they feed in flocks on mudflats or roost together in saltmarshes. Spring migration is relatively early – flocks depart coasts in March to early April bound for the interior breeding grounds.

North America’s largest shorebird, the Long-billed Curlew measures roughly 20–26 inches from bill to tail and carries an exceptionally long, downcurved bill. Its warm buff-and-cinnamon plumage and bright cinnamon wings stand out in flight, while females average longer-billed than males.