Little curlew (scientific name:Numenius minutus）It is of the genus Curculidaewading bird, body length 30centimeterAbout 100-250g.Is the smallestCurlew。The top of the head is dark brown, with fine central crown lines.The eye piercing lines are dark brown, and the eyebrow lines are light yellow.The back and shoulder feathers are black, covered with yellowish fringe spots.The front neck and chest skin are yellow, with thin black brown stripes.The abdomen is white, with black brown spots on both flanks.The mouth peak is slightly bent downward, and the base of the lower beak is flesh colored.The habitat is near lakes, marshes, river banks and nearby grasslands and farmland.Winter occurs in coastal areas.The food includes insects (such as ants), crabs, grass seeds, etc.Distributed in Russia, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and other countries;The wintering places are Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia;Accidental flight to Tasmania, New Zealand, etc.
The small curlew is a small wading bird. Its mouth is long and downward curved, and it is flesh red. Its front, top and back are black brown;The thick eyebrow lines and central crown lines on the eyes are light yellow.The head side and neck are yellowish gray, scattered with dark brown stripes.A black streak runs from eye to eye.The upper body is dark brown, and the feather margin has sand yellow notches.The coverts on the lower back, waist and tail are dark brown, with gray horizontal spots.Flying feather, primary covert, small covert black brown;The tail feathers are grayish brown, with dark brown horizontal spots.The chin and throat are white or stained with earthy yellow.The chest is full of sand yellow and many brown stripes;Underbelly and tail coverts are milky white, or slightly stained with yellow;The flank has dark brown transverse spots.Underwing coverts, axillary feathersyellow, covered with dark brown fine stripes.The feather color of male and female is the same, and the female is larger.The sub adult bird has more yellowish brown spots;The brown stripes on the chest and dark spots on the flank are not obvious or disappear.[2]
irisDark brown.The mouth end is black, and the base of the lower beak is flesh colored.Leg yellow or grey blue,Tarsal metatarsalWith peltate scales.[2]
The top of the head is dark brown, with fine central crown lines.The eye piercing lines are dark brown, and the eyebrow lines are light yellow.The back and shoulder feathers are black and covered with yellowish fringe spots
Male and female are the same color.The iris is brown, the beak is black, the base is pink, and the feet are gray.The beak is very long and downward curved, and the beak length is more than 3 times of the head length
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Little curlew
Big curlew
Habitat environment
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During the breeding period, the little curlew mostly lives in the subalpine forest and undergrowth areas, and likes to move and feed on the nearby lakes, river banks, marshes and grasslands. It also appears in the open burning slash and the deforested larch forest.During the migration, they mostly moved on the lakeside, riverside beach, coastal marsh and nearby farmland, cultivated land and grassland.In winter, they mainly live in marshes, wetlands, grasslands, lakes, rivers and farmland near the coast.[2]
Life habits
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Little curlew
Usually, they usually live alone or in small groups, but they also integrate with other snipes in large groups when migrating and wintering.When the tide recedes at the seaside, they go to the tidal flat flooded by the tide to feed, wade in the mud of the shoal, peck insects, insect larvae, small fish, shrimp, crustaceans and molluscs, and sometimes eat algae, grass seeds and plant seeds.[2]
Crying: chirping when flying or eating in groups“te-te-te”Sound, hoarse during alarm“chay-chay-chay”Sound.[2]
Distribution range
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It is distributed in Australia, Brunei, China, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Guam, Indonesia, Japan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor Leste.
Traveling birds: Christmas Island, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States.
Uncertain origin: Canada.[3]
In China, it is mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang in the north and Fujian, Taiwan and Guangdong in the south.Little curlew breeds in Eastern Siberia and Mongolia in Russia, and winters from Indonesia to Australia.It is a migratory bird in China, only in April May in spring, and in September October in autumn, when migrating, it passes through China, mostly in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, northeastern Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shandong and southward to Guangdong, Fujian, Hong Kong and Taiwan.However, there are also reports of breeding in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia.[2]
Distribution map of little curlew[4]
Reproductive mode
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The breeding period is from June to July, and they nest in clusters in the subalpine forest and shrub areas of Siberia.Most of them choose forest edge or burned open forest land to nest in the depression on the ground or next to trees, and also in the depression on the dry reed land near the water or marsh.The nest is lined with withered grass, and each nest lays 3-4 eggs. The eggs are green or olive yellow, with brown or slate gray spots on them.[2]
This species has a wide distribution range and is not close to the critical value standard of vulnerable and endangered species survival (distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size, fragmentation of distribution area). The population trend is stable, so it is evaluated as a species without survival crisis.[5]
