The long-billed curlew is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species breeds in central and western North America, migrating southward and coastward for the winter.
Region
North America
Typical Environment
Breeds in the prairies and shrub-steppe of the central and western United States and southern Canada, with scattered nesting in the Great Basin. In winter it moves to coastal areas, especially along the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Atlantic coasts, as well as interior valleys of California and northern Mexico. It frequents estuaries, tidal mudflats, salt marshes, sandy beaches, and coastal pastures in the nonbreeding season. During migration it also uses agricultural fields, shortgrass rangeland, and wetlands.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The long-billed curlew is North America’s largest shorebird, famed for its extremely long, down-curved bill. Females generally have noticeably longer bills than males. It was historically nicknamed the “sicklebird” and the “candlestick bird.” The bill allows it to probe deep into mud and sand for prey other shorebirds cannot reach.
A male long-billed curlew in flight
Long-billed curlews courting
Eating a sand crab
Foraging in the sand
Temperament
wary and alert
Flight Pattern
strong flier with steady wingbeats; often glides between flapping bouts
Social Behavior
Breeds in dispersed pairs on open grasslands, nesting on the ground in a shallow scrape lined with vegetation. Chicks are precocial and leave the nest shortly after hatching. Outside the breeding season it forms loose flocks, often mixing with other shorebirds on mudflats and coastal pastures.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A clear, ringing curlee or cur-lee call, often given in series. Display flights feature an excited, bubbling, ascending series of notes that carries over open grassland.
Plumage
Warm buff to cinnamon-washed underparts with heavily mottled and barred brown upperparts; rich cinnamon underwings visible in flight.
Diet
On the breeding grounds it eats mostly large insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles, along with spiders and occasional small vertebrates. In coastal habitats it probes for crabs, shrimp, marine worms, and mollusks, using its long bill to reach deep prey. It will also take seeds and berries opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in short to mixed-grass prairies, grazed pastures, and agricultural fields during breeding and migration. In winter it favors tidal mudflats, salt marsh edges, estuaries, and sandy beaches, as well as wet meadows and irrigated fields.
