Bristle-thighed Curlew

Common Name	Bristle-thighed CurlewBirdlife International
Species name	Numenius tahitiensisBirdlife International
Family	Scolopacidae
Genus
Local Name	Country Appearance Local name Brunei Darussalam     Cambodia     China     Indonesia     Japan Yes ハリモモチュウシャク Lao PDR     Malaysia     Mongolia     Myanmar     Philippines     Republic of Korea     Singapore     Thailand     Vietnam

 

Visual and Sound Image

Photos

Bristle-thighed Curlew

Videos

 

Sounds

 

Identification

40-44 cm. Medium-sized curlew. Well-marked head pattern. Dark lateral crown and eye-stripes contrast with pale crown centre and supercilium. Upperparts spotted buff, underparts streaked buff. Dark cinnamon underwing, barred brown. Unmarked cinnamon rump and uppertail. Blue-grey legs. Flesh-coloured base to brown, longish and heavy bill. Juvenile virtually unstreaked underparts and large buff spots on wing-coverts and upperparts.
<Similar species> Whimbrel N. phaeopus lacks cinnamon rump, has thinner and more pointed bill, less cinnamon underparts. Eskimo Curlew N. borealis is smaller. Long-billed Curlew N. americanus has different bill shape and head pattern. Voice Short chi-u-it, whistling whe-whe-whe-whe, ringing whee-wheeoo.

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Range Description

Numenius tahitiensis breeds on the lower Yukon River and central Seward Peninsula in western Alaska, USA. Suggestions that it breeds in Russia are unsupported5. It winters on oceanic islands, including the Hawaiian Islands (USA), US Minor Outlying Islands, Northern Mariana Islands (to USA), Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau (to New Zealand), Fiji, Tonga, Niue (to New Zealand), Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, and French Polynesia, also reaching the Solomon Islands, Norfolk Island (to Australia), Kermadec Islands (New Zealand), Pitcairn Islands (to UK) (notably Oeno) and Easter Island (Chile)1,3,10,11. The breeding population is c.7,000 birds, but c.3,000 subadults over-summer on Pacific islands2,9.

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Ecology

Ecology (Behaviour)

It breeds in dwarf-shrub tundra at 100-350 m during May-July. Birds congregate in the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta in August, and migrate south, mostly bypassing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to make landfall after 6,000 km or more4,7. It winters on coral reefs, sandy beaches, intertidal flats, rocky shores and in palm forests and dense vegetated understorey4,5. It is long-lived (15-23 years), forms long-term monogamous pairs, and is highly faithful to breeding and wintering sites4.

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Habitat

See behaiviour

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Diet

No descriptions

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Breeding Site

See behaiviour

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References

Collar et al. (1992). 1. Brooke (1995b). 2. P. Donaldson in litt. (1999). 3. Dutson (in press). 4. Gill (1999). 5. R. E. Gill in litt. (1999, 2003). 6. Marks (1993). 7. Marks and Redmond (1994b). 8. Marks and Redmond (1994a). 9. SPREP (1999). 10. Vilina et al. (1992). 11. Y. Vilina in litt. (1999). 12. G.Allport in litt. (2006).

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Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

VU

Justification

This species is listed as Vulnerable because its population is now small and believed to be declining, largely as a result of predation on the wintering grounds, when perhaps more than 50% of adults are flightless during autumn moult.
<Population justification> Morrison et al. (2001) estimated 7,000 breeders and 3,000 immatures.
<Trend justification> This species's population is suspected to be decreasing at a moderate rate, in line with heavy levels of predation by introduced species on its wintering grounds, particularly cats and dogs, and possibly pigs.

 

National Status

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

 

Management

Threat

Introduced cats, dogs and possibly pigs heavily predate flightless birds on wintering grounds. Hunting for food is localised, particularly previously in the Tuamotus, and recent reports suggest it may also be a threat in the Marshall Islands, Carolines, US Minor Outlying Islands and Hawaiian offshore islands12. Breeding birds are predated by several species of raptor, Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus, Common Raven Corvus corax and foxes. Gold mining is a potential future threat in Alaska5. Ingestion of lead paint on Midway Island needs to be investigated (it was recently identified as a problem in seabirds)5.

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Information

No descriptions

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Current Conservation

CMS Appendix II. Most breeding and staging grounds are well-protected4. The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge protects several wintering and stop-over sites. Protection and management of habitat at Kahuku on O'ahu has facilitated an increase in the local wintering population2.

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Current Conservation

Survey key historical sites8,9. Monitor population trends2,8. Assess harvesting rate9. Identify sites with high concentrations of wintering birds8,9. Identify migratory stop-over sites8,9. Protect and manage key islands, atolls and other wintering sites2,8. Increase public awareness especially in its winter range9.

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Legal Protection

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

 

Related Links

• CMS: Convention on Migratory Species

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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	5	3	12	17	15	21	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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
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

BirdLife International

BirdLife International

Climate change species distributions

 

Other Information

• Audubon WatchList
• Detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book