Belongs to: passage waders

Compare with: dunlin

Curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea

BoCC Amber list


Best time to see: mid Jul to mid Oct

Key facts

Medium-sized shorebird with long decurved bill and black legs

Habitat: freshwater marshes, estuaries and shores

Regular passage migrant mainly in autumn; breeds in Siberia

Recognition

Looks like a dunlin with a white rump and a downcurved bill; 19 cm

Feeds busily on shorelines when downcurved bill becomes obvious, eating crustaceans, insects and molluscs

Shows white rump in flight


© Robin Chittenden