Eurasian Curlew

How to recognise it

• Long, downcurved bill and long, grey-blue legs
• Brownish-grey speckled plumage with dark-streaked cheeks against a pale chin and throat
• In flight a white wedge shows from the rump up onto the back
• Sexes look alike, but the female is slightly larger with a longer, more curved bill

Call and song

The well-known call is a loud "curloo-oo". The song is strong and rhythmically trilling, opening with a few lonely, mournful notes. The contact call is a strong, upward-curving whistle with a lonely ring. In flight it gives "tlüih", which becomes "tüi-tüi-tüi" when the bird is excited.

Where and when

In Sweden it breeds across most of the country but is absent from the mountains and nearby areas. It is reported most in April. Its share of all bird reports is highest in Halland, Västerbotten and Norrbotten. The population was estimated at 9 000 pairs in 2008, against 22 000 to 25 000 in the mid 1980s. On the 2025 Swedish Red List it is Endangered.

Food and behaviour

It mainly searches for invertebrates in soft mud with its long, curved bill, and can also take crabs and earthworms. It is fairly shy of people. Outside the breeding season it is very social and is often seen with several others. It is often seen higher up on fields and farmland than many other waders.