Long-Billed Curlew

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Long-Billed Curlew Photo

The Long-billed Curlew has a winter range that includes coastal California. Although their breeding grounds are grasslands, the winters find them in coastal mudflats on their migratory routes.

Identifying characteristics:

• Size: 19 inches
• Very long, curved bill
• Brown coloration, white around eyes
• Cinnamon color under wings

Long-billed Curlews forage for crustaceans and other aquatic organisms in mudflats -- and for worms, insects and invertebrates in the grasslands. Curlew nests are usually on the ground with typical clutch sizes of four eggs.

Photo © Mike Baird

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^{Mike Baird Bio
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey | Cornell Lab of Ornithology}