Whimbrel

Common Name	WhimbrelBirdlife International
Species name	Numenius phaeopusBirdlife International
Family	Scolopacidae
Genus
Local Name	Country Appearance Local name Brunei Darussalam     Cambodia     China     Indonesia     Japan Yes チュウシャクシギ Lao PDR     Malaysia     Mongolia     Myanmar     Philippines     Republic of Korea     Singapore     Thailand     Vietnam

 

Visual and Sound Image

Photos

 

Videos

 

Sounds

 

Identification

No descriptions

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Range Description

No descriptions

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Ecology

Ecology (Behaviour)

This species is fully migratory and travels over land on a broad front utilising few staging areas on route (in autumn no known concentrated staging occurs)1, 5. It breeds from May to August2 either in well-dispersed3 solitary pairs1 or in loose groups depending on the topography of the land5. The autumn migration occurs from July onwards2 with the return passage to the breeding grounds occurring chiefly between March and May2 (non-breeders may also remain on the wintering grounds all year round)1. When not breeding the species usually forages singly or in small groups1, flying in small parties3 or larger flocks on migration4, 5 and roosting communally at night in mangrove trees or in shallow water1.

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Habitat

<Breeding> The species breeds on dry scrub heathland5, moss and lichen tundra with stunted bushes3, sedge meadows3, wet moorland1, 5 and mossy hummock bogs4, 3 in open areas, river valleys1, along the shores of tundra lakes4, in birch forest near the Arctic treeline1, burned areas of forest4 and open montane forest1 in the boreal, subarctic and subalpine zones1, 3. It generally avoids extremes of cold and wet, steep slopes, bare rock and gravel expanses or tall dense vegetation (e.g. dense forest)5.
<Non-breeding> On passage in the autumn and spring the species frequents wetlands, tidal flats1, short-sward wet and dry grasslands1, 2, farmland2 and heathland with Empetrum spp., generally occupying coastal habitats in the winter such as muddy, rocky or sandy beaches1, coral shores6, exposed reefs, tidal mudflats1, sandflats6, mangrove swamps1, tidal marshes3 and lagoons6.

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Diet

When inland on migration and during the breeding season its diet consists of adult and larval insects1, 3 (e.g. Coleoptera, Orthoptera and cranefly larvae), spiders, millipedes, earthworms, snails, slugs, seeds, leaves and berries1 (e.g. of ericaceous plants)3. On the coast during the winter the species takes crustaceans (e.g. crabs), molluscs, large polychaete worms and occasionally fish, reptiles or young birds1.

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Breeding Site

The nest is a shallow depression1, 5 often positioned on hummocks or in short heather or grass3, 4 in dry exposed locations1, 3, 4 sometimes far from water3, 4. When the breeding habitat (e.g. tundra or heathland) is flat and open the species nests in solitary pairs, but where irregular features such as hummocks and tall vegetation patches give more visual isolation the species may nest in loose groups5.

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References

1. del Hoyo et al. (1996). 2. Hayman et al. (1986). 3. Johnsgard (1981). 4. Flint et al. (1984). 5. Snow and Perrins (1998). 6. Urban et al. (1986). 7. Melville and Shortridge (2006). 8. Grant (1992). 9. Grant et al. (1992).

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Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

LC

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
<Trend justification> The overall population trend is decreasing, although some populations may be stable and others have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2006). This species has undergone a large and statistically significant decrease over the last 40 years in North America (-84.7% decline over 40 years, equating to a -37.5% decline per decade; data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007) Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

 

National Status

Country	Category	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Management

Threat

The species is susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the virus7.

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Information

A study in the Shetland Islands, UK found that when trying to enhance the grazing quality of heathlands by re-seeding (e.g. with high quality grass-seed mixtures) it is better to apply lime, grass-seed and inorganic fertiliser directly to the surface of the ground rather than ploughing and harrowing the ground first, as the latter maintains more natural vegetation hummocks and heather used by the species for nesting8. Re-seeding of heathland with prior ploughing and harrowing may improve feeding conditions for pre-breeding adults however9.

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Current Conservation

No descriptions

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Current Conservation

No descriptions

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Legal Protection

Country	Status	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia	Protected Species	Goverment Regulation no. 7 / 1999, about Preservation of Plants and Animals
Japan
Korea
Lao PDR
Malaysia	Protected Wild Birds Part I: Game Birds	Law of Malaysia Act 76, Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 (Amend. 2006)
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Related Links

 

Range

Geographical Information

Migration Route

 

Asian Waterbird Census

Descriptions

The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was initiated in 1987 and runs in parallel with other waterbird censuses carried out in Africa, Europe, Central and West Asia and Latin America under the umbrella of the International Waterbird Census (IWC), which is organised by Wetlands International.

The AWC takes place annually, during the second and third weeks of January, and is carried out by volunteers interested in collecting information on waterbirds and wetlands as a basis for contributing to their conservation.

Reference: Li, Z.W.D., Bloem, A., Delany S., Martakis G. and Quintero J. O. 2009. Status of Waterbirds in Asia - Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Census Data

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual																						8
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)																						2
The total number of count sites	2	3	3	2	4	4	0	4	4	4	4	5	5	0	0	0	9	0	0	1	0	9
CAMBODIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual											172
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)											3
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	11	0	0	12	12	11	5	1	6	9	6	6
CHINA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual			17				1	62		3		1
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)			2				1	1		1		1
The total number of count sites	0	1	34	12	50	60	67	29	6	14	6	15	21	20	14	10	22	45	80	81	59	72
INDONESIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual				750	553	59	191	1282	887	92	114			149	50		111	1		137	52	808
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)				1	8	3	5	9	10	2	5			5	1		3	1		9	2	5
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	19	8	17	17	15	19	16	0	0	47	12	10	40	34	14	16	15	23
JAPAN	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual								3	3	8	25	3			71	68	64	42	28	49	27	65
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)								1	1	2	2	1			9	10	10	9	5	5	5	6
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	53	39	52	47	20	50	40	47	37	41	37	107	112	103	109	97	159	142	137
LAO PDR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	2	4	5	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
MALAYSIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual				384	2132	1048	1322	1247	2022	212	13			944	693	928	577	1649	881	2459	4900	1666
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)				9	14	18	18	4	3	4	1			6	8	6	6	11	9	32	34	13
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	59	68	93	85	17	10	7	10	0	0	20	25	25	25	43	43	82	82	40
MYANMAR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual				2		21	25	7	436								6	2	20	116	1218
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)				1		2	1	2	1								1	1	1	3	11
The total number of count sites	0	5	3	12	17	15	19	20	13	12	2	4	2	0	7	32	47	73	24	31	32	19
PHILIPPINES	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual					467	210	700	318	153	669	117	290	153	165	610	463	565	428	769	183	153	613
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)					9	10	21	16	18	17	8	10	13	12	21	16	18	15	14	14	13	29
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	19	21	34	39	46	47	39	28	29	32	43	38	50	47	56	54	65	108
SINGAPORE	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual					69	88	247	315	224	341	217	329	149	321	71	112	261	240	107	267	480	437
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)					2	5	6	7	7	9	9	4	5	6	5	4	6	5	5	1	3	3
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	4	12	17	15	13	14	10	10	6	11	10	10	8	9	9	8	8	7
REPUBLIC OF KOREA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	10	12	22	20	20	15	10	22	25	22	14	68	99	112	118	116	117	123	127	127
THAILAND	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual	504				2	21	40	93	39	28		409		192	65			60	19	289	728	261
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)	4				1	2	1	3	3	2		2		1	1			4	2	5	11	6
The total number of count sites	10	8	3	20	26	12	23	16	17	5	9	3	1	1	7	3	9	26	20	82	99	33
VIETNAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual																	4			6	11	60
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)																	1			1	1	2
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	4	0	1	1	0	1	8	2	2	16	4	4	9	6	11

 

Population

Descriptions

 

Population Trend

 

Additional Information

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Climate change species distributions

 

Other Information

• Detailed species account from Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status (BirdLife International 2004)