Long-billed Curlew -- South Dakota Birds
| Length: 22 inches | Wingspan: 36 inches | Seasonality: Summer/Migrant |
| ID Keys: Extremely long, decurved bill. largest of the sandpipers | ||
Long-billed
Curlew
Numenius americanus
The Long-billed Curlew is the largest of the sandpipers in the state, and is easily recognizable by its extremely long, decurved bill. Their extremely long bills are used to feed on burrowing wolf spiders, such as the one caught by the bird on the right. It is a sandpiper of the dry grasslands and prairies of the West, and is only found on mudflats, marshes, and wetlands during migration and in winter. Long-billed Curlews have decreased greatly from their historical range and populations, and are still declining in recent decades.
Habitat: Summers on grassland and sagebrush prairies, preferably with wet meadows nearby.
Diet: Mostly insects, also eggs, young birds, toads, and occasionally berries and seeds.
Nesting: May and June
Breeding: Breeding Bird Survey map
Song: Loud, two-tone call, with 2nd note higher than the first.
Migrations: Summers in grasslands in the western United States. Winters in the southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
Similar Species:
Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit
Status: Greatly reduced from historical levels, and still declining in recent decades. Range was once much further east than it is today. Grasslands on which it relies have been converted to agriculture in many parts of its range.
Further Information: 1. USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Long-billed Curlew
2) Cornell University's "All About Birds - Long-billed Curlew"
3) E-nature.com: Long-billed Curlew
Photo Information: April 26th, 2003 - Triple U Buffalo Ranch in Stanley County -- Doug Backlund
Proud Member Of:
Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl
This page was last edited on 02/03/08