Scientific name:

Numenius arquata

About:

A very large, tall wader about 50cm long, about the same size as a female pheasant. Streaky greyish brown, with long bluey-grey legs and a very long, downwards curved bill, greyish with pink at the base. When they fly, curlew have a white wedge on the rump.

How to identify:

<p>Told from the smaller whimbrel by the longer bill and plain head pattern. The call is a loud, sad ‘Cur-lee’.</p>

Where:

A fairly common breeding bird of wet grasslands and moorlands in northern England, Wales and Scotland. Common on migration at wetlands throughout the country. Winters around the coast.

Fantastic facts:

An old country name is the Whaup or Great Whaup.