Curlew is the common name for the genera Numenius, a group of eight wader species, characterised by a long slender downcurved bill and mainly brown plumage with little seasonal change. They are related to the godwits, but the latter have straight bills.

Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground, searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items.

The Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicaudia) is an odd bird which is closely related to the curlews, distinguished from them by its yellow legs, long tail and shorter, less curved bill.

Note that the stone-curlews are not true curlews (family Scolopacidae) but members of the family Burhinidae, which is in the same order Charadriiformes, but only distantly related within it.

Curlews | Numenius | Genera of Birds

Brachvögel | Courlis | Kurlio | კრონშნეპი