The Hudsonian whimbrel or Hudsonian curlew is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America.
Region
Americas
Typical Environment
Breeds across subarctic Alaska and northern Canada on wet tundra, fens, and sedge meadows. During migration it moves along both the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, concentrating on estuaries, mudflats, and saltmarshes. In winter it is largely coastal from the southern United States through Mexico and the Caribbean to northern South America, with records down the Pacific coast to Peru and on the Atlantic to northern Brazil. It occasionally uses inland wetlands during migration but is most frequently found on tidal shorelines.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Polar
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Hudsonian whimbrel (also called Hudsonian curlew) is the New World whimbrel, recently treated as distinct from the Eurasian whimbrel. It undertakes long overwater migrations and shows strong site fidelity to both breeding territories and coastal wintering grounds. A useful field clue is that, unlike the Eurasian form, it lacks a contrasting white rump. Conservation concerns include disturbance and hunting pressure at some Caribbean and northern South American stopovers.
Numenius hudsonicus hudsonicus on a beach in Florida
Temperament
wary and alert
Flight Pattern
strong flier with steady, purposeful wingbeats; sometimes glides between bursts of flapping
Social Behavior
Breeds on open tundra where pairs defend territories and nest on the ground in a shallow scrape. Both sexes incubate and tend the brood. Outside the breeding season it is gregarious, forming loose flocks that roost and forage together on coastal flats.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
The display song is a rippling, whistled series that accelerates and rises in pitch. Typical calls include sharp, repeated whistles and scolding trills, often given in flight over marshes and mudflats.
Plumage
Mottled brown upperparts with fine streaking, paler buffy underparts with dusky streaks, and a distinctly striped head. Feathers are cryptically patterned, aiding camouflage on tundra and coastal wrack.
Diet
Primarily takes marine invertebrates such as fiddler and shore crabs, marine worms, and small mollusks, which it extracts by probing and picking. On the breeding grounds it also consumes insects and spiders, and it may seasonally eat berries such as crowberries. Prey choice often tracks local availability, with crabs dominating on tropical and subtropical coasts.
Preferred Environment
Forages on tidal mudflats, sandflats, saltmarsh edges, and rocky shorelines; also along mangrove margins. On the breeding grounds it feeds in wet tundra, bogs, and pond edges.
