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whimbrel
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A whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) stands on wet sand at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Peru, its long curved bill and reflection visible in the shallow water. Illustrations of eight bird heads, each showing a different bill shape adapted for feeding: a hooked bill for tearing flesh on a red-tailed hawk, a cone-shaped bill for cracking seeds on a northern cardinal, a flat bill for catching fish on a roseate spoonbill, a spear-like bill for jabbing prey on a great blue heron, a chisel-like bill for digging insects on a northern flicker, a large pouch bill for scooping fish on a brown pelican, a narrow bill with toothlike edges for catching fish on a hoo bill variation in shorebirds
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whimbrel

bird
Also known as: Hudsonian curlew, Numenius phaeopus, lesser curlew(Show More)
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A whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) stands on wet sand at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Peru, its long curved bill and reflection visible in the shallow water.
whimbrel Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), or lesser curlew.

The whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a type of curlew, a shorebird known for its decurved, sickle-shaped bill. It is the most widely distributed curlew species, found in both the Old and New Worlds.12

Whimbrels are streaked, gray or brown birds with long necks and legs. They breed in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and migrate long distances. During migration, they inhabit dry uplands, feeding on insects and seeds. In winter, they are found in marshes and coastal mudflats, probing for worms and crabs. The Eurasian whimbrel is white-rumped, while the North American race is dark-rumped.2

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