Far Eastern Curlew

Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)

Far Eastern Curlew, Numenius madagascariensis, breeds in inland wetlands across the subarctic to temperate Palearctic, from eastern Siberia and Kamchatka through Ussuriland and Heilongjiang, and spends the non-breeding season in Australasia and parts of coastal and island Asia, including New Zealand. It is a large wader in the sandpiper family and is most like the long-billed curlew, though slightly larger. It is set apart by its plain brown underwing and brown rump, and by the brown lower back that distinguishes it from the Eurasian curlew where their ranges meet.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae — Sandpipers, Snipes

Breeding range

Palearctic: inland wetlands of subarctic to temperate ne Palearctic: ec Siberia to Kamchatka and Ussuriland (se Russia) and Heilongjiang (ne China)

Nonbreeding range

Australasia: coastal subtropical to tropical e Asia: Ryukyu Is. (=Nansei Shoto, s Japan), Taiwan, se coastal China, Philippines, e Vietnam, Malay Pen., Indonesian Arch., s, se New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania, North and South is. (New Zealand)