Eskimo Curlew

(Numenius borealis)

Date of Listing: Endangered, 1967

In the mid-1800's, huge flocks of Eskimo Curlew migrated north from South America to their nesting grounds in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic. Historic reports tell of the skies being full of Eskimo Curlews as they migrated through the prairie states and provinces. During migration, they fed on grasshoppers and other insects on the grasslands of the central United States.

Between 1870 and 1890, unrestricted hunting rapidly reduced populations of Eskimo Curlew. Considered very good to eat, the birds were killed by thousands of market hunters, just as the Passenger Pigeon had been years earlier. The curlew's lack of fear and habit of travelling in large flocks made it an easy target.

Note: Special thanks to Don Bleitz for providing images of the Eskimo Curlew. This photo comes from a series of 3-4 shots taken of two individuals, the only known photos of the species anywhere in the world. It was taken in 1962 on Galveston Island, Texas. All rights to these images are reserved. Educational use permitted.

Reason for Concern:

In 1916, nongame bird hunting in the United States was stopped by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but the Eskimo Curlew did not recover. Conversion of native grasslands to cropland, in the South American wintering area and along the migration route through the tall grass prairies of the United States, is thought to be the reason for the birds' failure to recover.

Size:: 12 inches in length.
Diet:: Grasshoppers and their eggs, grubs, cutworms.
Habitat (where it lives):: Variety of grassland habitats.
Range (where found in Texas):: Migrates from breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra through the North American prairies to wintering grounds on the Pampas grasslands of Argentina.
Reproduction:: Nest is a shallow depression in the ground on open Arctic tundra.
Population Numbers:: Thought to be extinct.
Interesting Fact:: An historic report of a single flock feeding in Nebraska was said to have covered 40 to 50 acres of ground.