Shorebird stubble bird

Long-billed Curlews. Courtesy Wikipedia

We were on one of our "Sunday drives" (April 26, 2000) when we came upon half a dozen most unusual birds to find strutting about in a stubble field dining on grasshoppers - Long-billed Curlews. It was the first time we had seen these duck-sized birds with spectacularly long, down curved bills. They are in fact the largest member of the Sandpiper family.

The female's bill is noticeably longer than the male's - up to eight inches - and with these chopsticks, they can pick up grasshoppers in the stubble or grass while still keeping an eye out for danger!  One of the nicknames given to them is "sickle bird," probably because they march along through the field or pasture, sweeping their bill side to side, like an old time farmer reaping  his crop.

We had a good look at them that day as they went about looking for breakfast. They are mottled brown and black on the back with buff underparts and a plain head. (The Whimbrel, which also has a long, down-curved bill has stripes on top of its head.) When something startled them they rose up shrieking "cur-lee, cur-lee," flashing cinnamon under their wings. When they settled back in the stubble, they just seemed to disappear, so good is their camouflage.

Like the Upland Sandpiper, they have suffered loss of habitat through agriculture. They nest on the ground and so their eggs at risk from badgers, weasels, magpies and crows and, if they think all's safe in a pasture, they are still in danger of being trod on by cattle. Their chicks take a long five weeks before they can fly so add hawks and heat to that list of dangers.

Incidentally, they have another nickname - the "candlestick bird" and not because they bear any resemblance to candlesticks. Years ago, during migration they congregated in large numbers at Candlestick Point in San Francisco. And yes, sports fans, that's where Candlestick Park Stadium inherited its name.