Numenius madagascariensis — Details

Eastern Curlew learn more about names for this taxon

Overview

Distribution

Range Description

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Numenius madagascariensis breeds in eastern Russia, from the upper reaches of the Nizhnyaya Tunguska river east though the Verkhoyarsk mountains to Kamchatka, and south to Primorye and north-eastern Mongolia. It has been recorded as a non-breeding visitor to Japan, North Korea, South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong (China), Brunei, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, with most birds wintering in Australia, but also in Taiwan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand1. The global population has recently been estimated at 38,000 individuals2. The global population is declining, as indicated by reduced numbers at stopover points in South Korea and Japan, and a significant decline in the number of non-breeding individuals wintering in north-west Australia3,4,6.
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Ecology

Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

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Habitat and Ecology
Behaviour This migratory wader nests from early May to late June, often in small colonies of 2-3 pairs, with an average clutch size of four eggs. It probably delays maturity longer than most shorebirds, perhaps not breeding until 3-4 years old1. Habitat The species breeds on open mossy or transitional bogs, moss-lichen bogs and wet meadows, and on the swampy shores of small lakes; in the non-breeding season it is essentially coastal, occurring at estuaries, mangrove swamps, saltmarshes and intertidal flats, particularly those with extensive seagrass (Zosteraceae) meadows. It often roosts in salt-marshes, behind mangroves, or on sandy beaches1. Diet Its diet on breeding grounds includes insects, such as larvae of beetles and flies, and amphipods. Berries are also consumed during the autumn migration. In non-breeding areas it feeds on marine invertebrates, preferentially taking crabs and small molluscs but also feeding on other crustaceans and polychaete worms1.

Systems
  • Terrestrial
  • Freshwater
  • Marine
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Molecular Biology and Genetics

Molecular Biology

Barcode data: Numenius madagascariensis

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The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species. 

 
There are 5 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
 
KBPBU146-06|UWBM 47183|Numenius madagascariensis| ------------------------------------------CTCTACCTAATCTTTGGGGCATGAGCAGGCATAGTTGGAACCGCCCTC---AGCCTGCTCATCCGTGCCGAACTAGGTCAACCAGGGACCCTTCTGGGAGAC---GACCAAATCTACAATGTAATCGTCACCGCCCATGCCTTCGTAATAATCTTCTTCATAGTAATGCCAATCATAATTGGTGGCTTCGGAAACTGACTAGTTCCACTGATA---ATCGGTGCTCCCGACATAGCATTCCCACGCATAAACAACATAAGCTTCTGACTTCTTCCCCCATCATTCCTACTCCTACTAGCCTCATCTACAGTTGAAGCCGGGGCCGGCACAGGATGGACCGTATACCCGCCCCTCGCCGGCAACCTAGCTCACGCTGGAGCCTCAGTAGACCTA---GCTATTTTTTCCCTACACTTAGCAGGTGTCTCCTCCATCCTAGGGGCTATCAACTTCATCACAACCGCTATCAACATAAAACCCCCAGCCCTTTCTCAATACCAAACCCCCTTATTCGTATGGTCAGTGCTCATCACCGCTGTCCTACTCCTTCTATCTCTCCCAGTCCTTGCTGCA---GGCATTACAATACTACTGACAGACCGAAACCTAAACACCACATTTTTCGACCCTGCTGGAGGAGGTGACCCAGTTTTATATCAACACCTCTTCTGATTCTTTGGTCACCCAGAAGTCTATATCCTAATCCTG------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
-- end --

Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Numenius madagascariensis

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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Species: 13
Species With Barcodes: 1

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Conservation

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

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Red List Category
VU
Vulnerable

Red List Criteria
A4bcd

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2010

Assessor/s
BirdLife International

Reviewer/s
Calvert, R., Symes, A., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s
Moores, N., Amano, H., Rogers, D.

Justification
This species has been uplisted to Vulnerable owing to a rapid population decline which is suspected to have been primarily driven by habitat loss and deterioration. Further proposed reclamation projects are predicted to cause additional declines in the future.

History
  • 2009
    Least Concern
  • 2008
    Least Concern
  • 2004
    Least Concern
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Population

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Population
The global population has been estimated at 38,000 individuals (Wetlands International, 2006). Although this estimate is currently retained, recent documented declines mean that the true population size is likely to be smaller.

Population Trend
Decreasing
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Threats

Threats

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Major Threats
Habitat loss is probably the primary threat to the species, although it is difficult to ascertain whether declines seen at reclaimed sites such as Saemangeum represent true declines, or whether the birds have simply been displaced4,5. Further threats may include disturbance at the nesting and feeding sites, direct persecution throughout its range, and a decrease in the availability of food due to pollution in at stopover points in South Korea. Furthermore, females probably tend to migrate further south to southern Australian wetlands which are more at threat than those in northern Australia1.
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Management

Conservation Actions

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Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions Underway
No specific conservation action is known for this species, although population trends are being monitored in Australia as part of the Monitoring Yellow Sea Migrants in Australia project.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Identify key stopover areas and prevent their reclamation. Continue to monitor population trends. Restore reclaimed wetland sites. Campaign to stop shorebird hunting in Asian countries. Legally protect it in all range states. Survey the breeding grounds for potential threats.

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Wikipedia

Eastern Curlew

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The Eastern Curlew or Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the Long-billed Curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing. It is not only the largest curlew but probably the world's largest sandpiper, at 60–66 cm (24–26 in) in length and 110 cm (43 in) across the wings.[1] The body is reportedly 565–1,150 g (1.25–2.5 lb), which may be equaled by the Eurasian Curlew.[2] The extremely long bill, at 12.8–20.1 cm (5.0–7.9 in) in length, rivals the bill size of the closely related Long-billed Curlew as the longest bill for a sandpiper.[1]

Inskip Point, SE Queensland, Australia

The Eastern Curlew spends its breeding season in northeastern Asia, including Siberia to Kamchatka, and Mongolia. Its breeding habitat is composed of marshy and swampy wetlands and lakeshores. Most individuals winter in coastal Australia, with a few heading to South Korea, Thailand, and New Zealand, where they stay at estuaries, beaches, and salt marshes. During its migration the Far Eastern Curlew commonly passes the Yellow Sea.

It uses its long, decurved bill to probe for invertebrates in the mud. It may feed in solitary but it generally congregates in large flocks to migrate or roost. Its call is a sharp, clear whistle, cuuue-reee, often repeated.

As of 2006, there are an estimated 38,000 individuals in the world. Formerly classified as least concern by IUCN, it was found to have been rarer than previously believed and thus its status was updated to Vulnerable in the 2010 IUCN red list of threatened species.[3]


Gallery

  • Far Eastern Curlew -2.jpg
  • Far Eastern Curlew manly.ogg

    Manly Marina, SE Queensland, Australia

References

  1. ^ a b Marchant, Hayman & Prater, Shorebirds (Helm Identification Guide). Christopher Helm (2010)
  2. ^ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
  3. ^ "Numenius madagascariensis (Eastern Curlew, Far Eastern Curlew)". IUCN. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003014/0. Retrieved 2012-01-23. 
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