Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Whimbrel is a large shorebird, about the size of an American Crow.
Like many members of its family, this bird has drab-looking brownish plumage; its most distinctive features are a long, down-curved bill, reminiscent of the closely-related Long-billed Curlew, and a brown-striped crown. Its genus name, Numenius, is Greek for “new moon,” and refers to the crescent shape of the Whimbrel’s bill.
This species is the widest-ranging of the world’s curlews, nesting in Arctic regions across North America and Eurasia. The North American population of Whimbrel, N. p. hudsonicus, was considered a separate species, called the Hudsonian Curlew, until 1957.
This unassuming-looking shorebird has some interesting folk names – what are a few?
Read on to find out more: abcbirds.org/bird/whimbrel
The Whimbrel is a large shorebird, about the size of an American Crow.
Like many members of its family, this bird has drab-looking brownish plumage; its most distinctive features are a long, down-curved bill, reminiscent of the closely-related Long-billed Curlew, and a brown-striped crown. Its genus name, Numenius, is Greek for “new moon,” and refers to the crescent shape of the Whimbrel’s bill.
This species is the widest-ranging of the world’s curlews, nesting in Arctic regions across North America and Eurasia. The North American population of Whimbrel, N. p. hudsonicus, was considered a separate species, called the Hudsonian Curlew, until 1957.
This unassuming-looking shorebird has some interesting folk names – what are a few?
Read on to find out more: abcbirds.org/bird/whimbrel
