Curlew
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Curlew
Bird
A large wading bird with a distinctively long, downwards-curving beak used for hunting in the mud.
💡 Fun Facts
- They are the largest wading bird in the UK.
- Their long, curved beak is perfectly shaped for pulling worms out of deep estuary mud.
- Their haunting, bubbling call is a classic sound of the British coast.
📅 Through the Year
- Breeding:April to July
Name Story
Numenius arquata
means “The new-moon bird with the bow-curved bill”
What does its name mean?
- Numenius — of the new moonGreek neos 'new' + mene 'moon'
- arquata — curved like a bowLatin arcus 'a bow'
The curlew's wonderfully long bill sweeps downward in a curve — and both halves of its name picture it: a thin crescent new moon, and an archer's bent bow.