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Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Description:

Curved long black beak and long legs. Mottled brown and white body. Brown cap and line across the eye.

Habitat:

Coastal beaches.

2 Comments

Musicwolf
Musicwolf 6 years ago

Thanks so much for the information and ID Doren B! I truly appreciate it.

Doren B
Doren B 6 years ago

That long, downwardly-curving bill is the starting point for working up your identification. If you look at a bird field guide you will see that most sandpipers have straight or nearly straight bills. Only a few have such long, curved bills. These are the curlews.
The two most common curlews are the Long-billed Curlew and the Whimbrel. Distinguishing between these two is easy because the Long-billed Curlew lives up to its name, with a bill almost as long as its body.

Musicwolf
Spotted by
Musicwolf

Alaska, USA

Spotted on May 19, 2017
Submitted on May 20, 2017

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