A Little-Known Species Reaches North America

Home , Eskimo curlew, Greater yellowlegs, Little curlew, Ruff (bird)

DISTRIBUTION A little-known species reaches North America

Ageelas a juvenile.this Little Curlew went abnost a monthin theSanta Maria Valle•:Note the di.vtribution qf pinl• Oll the lower tnandlble Photo:Septenlber 18. 1984/AlanS. Hopkins

At home on the tundra steppesoF eastern Paul Lehman and Jon L. Dunn Siberia,the Little Curlew (Numeniusminutus) t has been recorded in southern CaliFornia

nicaL Solitary Sandpiper(Tringa soli- whoremained at the originalsite, hearda northcrnSanta Barbara County, tarre), Baird's Sandpiper(C. bairdii), somewhatplover-like "too-whit" call and T California,HFSANTA isMARIA well-knownVALLI:Y for the in and Pectoral Sandpipcr (C. melanotos), briefly noteda shorebirdof medium size largcnumbcrs and varietics of shorebirds are annuallysccn in fall. with unmarkcd•brownish upperparts fly foundthere. Sincc regular censusing be- On September16. 1984. Louis Bcvicr by to hisside and disappear into the pas- gan in 1978, the lush pastureland,sct- and Kelly Steelefound ajuvenilc Curlcw ture. Given the overall size of the bird, tling ponds, and Santa Maria River Sandpiper(C. Jkrruginea), in a partially thecall, andthe brief viewsof the upper- mouthhavc producednumerous raritics, Iloodcdpasture, several miles westof the parts,hc assumedit was a LesserGolden- includingsevcral rccords each of Sharp- city of SantaMaria. Having beennotified Plover, but was bothered that the bird tailed Sandpiper(CalMris acuminata), of this sighting,several other birders, in- wasnot goldenenough above and that its andRuff (PhilomachuspugtlaX). as well cludingLehman, Brad Schram,and Tom silhouetteshowed too much body for- assmall numbers of SemipalmatedSand- Wurster, arrived at the site within two ward of the wings. pipers(C. pusilia), each fall. A flock of hours but could not relocate the bird that "Pacific"Lesser Golden-Plovers (Pluvia- day. (It was subsequentlyseen at a near- •Ducm thisspecies' close taxonomic rela- lis dominica.fuh'a),regularly winters in by settlingpond over the following sever- lionshipx•ith the EskimoCurlcx• (NItlneniu.• borealisl, the authors herein use the name thevalley, andmoderate numbers of such al days.) The group of birdersthen split l.ittlc Curlc• in prelbrenccIo l.ittlc Whim- uncommonwest coast species as "Ameri- up to searchlbr the Curlew Sandpiperat brel. the namecommonly used in Euro• and can" Lesser Golden-Plover (P. d. domi- other localities in the valley. Lehman, Australia.

Volume 39, Number 3 247 birds flushed nearby. Some observers wereable to gel within 20-25 feet of the lone, feedingbird by sitting quietly and waitingfor it to approachthem. The curlew could not alwaysbe found, and on severaldays it was not seen at all. The followingdescription of the Santa Maria, California, Little Curlew, a juvenile, is basedprimarily on the field notes of the authors,with some supplemental materialgleaned from the notesof Guy McCaskieand JosephMorlan. Addition- al detail was obtained from the examina- tionof photostaken by Alan Hopkinsand Arnold Small.

SIZE -- The overall body size was close to afidva Lesser Golden-Plover. but the legswere longer. It stoodalmost as tall as nearbyGreater Yellowlegs but was slimmer bodied. The bird was much smaller The distinctiveshape of the Little Curlew is readi.lyapparent -- slim body.long neck. small head and short. slightlydecurved bill. Photo: September18, 1984/AhotS. Haplyins thana Whimbrel and was literally dwarf- cd by a Long-billedCurlew. All species Shortlythereafter the bird appearedin cr than nearbyWhimbrcls and was abso- were presentfor size comparisonon a the flooded pasture close to Lehman. lutely dwarfedby Long-billed Curlews. number of occasions. who was stunnedto be looking at a bird That evening the literature was con- HEAD PATTERN- The crown was a that at first appearedto be an Upland sulted. and all field marks used to differ- darkblackish-brown with a verythin, but Sandpiper (Bartramia Iongicauda). entiateEskimo and Little curlewspointed conspicuous,pale mediancrown stripe. owing to its overall size and color, slim toward the bird being a Little Curlew. To the sides of the crown were very build, relatively long neck, small head, The news was quickly spread. broad, lateral blackish-brown crown and slim, rather short bill. However, it stripes that connected around the rear wasalmost immediately apparent that the portionof the crown. Behindthis, in the bird was a small curlew. as it showed A MAZINGIalmost aY, month.TIlE BIRD being remained last seenfor occiput area, a pale circular spot was distinctiveblackish-brown head striping with certaintyOctober 14. During this completelysurrounded by a ring of dark and a noticeabledroop to the bill. period,it wasviewed by hundredsof ob- brown. A broad, pale buff supercilium Lehman was unaware of the field char- servers and extensively photographed extended forward to the base of the bill actersused to differentiatethe two spe- (FiguresI-5), thanksto the kindnessand and appearedto connectvery narrowly cies, but he believed the bird was either patienceof Gone and Glcnna Mahoney, across the forehead. Below this was a an Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis), the farmerswho ownedthe propertythe darkstripe thai wentfrom behindthe eye, or Little Curlew (N. minutus). However, bird frequented.Not only did they wel- extending forward under the eye and asthe bird raisedits wings he then noted come the hundreds of birders who vis- stoppingjust shortof the baseof the bill. that it had sandy wing linings with fine ited, but even moved their cows from the The anteriorportion of the lores were a dark barring. He knew that the Eskimo Little Curlcw'sfavored pasture for sever- very pale and unmarkedbuff color. The Curlew shows rich cinnamon-buff un- al daysso that observers could more easi- eye itself was dark and appearedmoder- derwinglinings, and so believedthe bird ly enterthe property. The bird's preferred ately large in the rather small head. The was a Little Curlew. habitatwas in and aroundpools of stand- areajust below and behindthe eye was The bird was seenbriefly by Wurster ing irrigation water in the pastures,al- pale with a very conspicuouswhite eye before it flew well to the south. With the thoughdrier pasturewas also utilized. It ring, especiallybehind the eye. The re- assistance of the other observers it was primarilyvisited pastureland an addition- mainderof the thee was a pale buff, es- relocatedin extensivepastureland ap- al 0.25 miles farther south from the last sentiallyunmarked, except for a narrow, proximately1.5 milesaway, whereit re- site of observationSeptember 16, and dark brown slash line in the lower rear of mained until dusk. Excellent views were wasonly rarely notedat the two localities theauriculars, just below the rear portion obtained here as the bird fed in close at which it was seenon that first day. of the dark eye line. proximityto numbersof LesserGolden- The Little Curlew did not directlyas- Plovers,Long-billed Curlews (N. ameri- sociatewith any particular species,al- UPPERPARTS -- There was a thin and canus), Whimbrels (N. phaeopus), and thoughit was usuallyclose to Black-bel- diffusedark stripe down the rear of the Greater Yellowlegs (T. melanoleuca). lied Plovers(P. squatarola),Long-billed neck. The entire upperparts(mantle, The bird's body size was closeto that of Curlews,Greater Yellowlegs, European scapulars,tcrtials, and wing coverts•ap- the nearby golden-plovers, although Starlings (Sturnus vtdgaris), or Red- peareda dark brown, but there were nu- slightly slimmer. and its longer legs winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeni- merousmarkings of light buff alongthe made it stand a little taller. It stood al- ceus). When flushed, it often flew off edgesof these feathers.Upon close in- mostas tall asthe Greater Yellowlegs but alone. It was not especiallywary; but it spectionof the tertialsand the greater and with a slimmerbody. It was muchsmall- usuallytook flight whenthe othershore- median wing coverts, these pale edge

248 AmericanBirds, Fall 1985 markingsappeared as serrationsor little trianglesthat penetratedinto the dark- basedcenters. The rump and uppertail coverts were barred with dark brown on a lightbuff groundcolor. The uppersideof the tail was barredjust like the uppertail coverts; but, there was a darker sub- terminal band which set off a broader, pale buff terminal band. The barring in theseareas was rather fine. The primaries wereblackish with a narrowpale whitish edge extendingaround the tip of each visible primary. There was noticeable primarytip extensionpast the longestter- tial. The long tail extendedjust barely pastthe longestpoint of extensionof the primaries. UNDERPARTS- The overall ground colorof the underpartswas a dirty white, with a veryslight grayish tinge. The chin was whitish and unmarked. Much of the A somewhatatypical hunehedpositbm clear_ly shows the plumage detail of the Little Curlew.Note ritefacial pattern and overall coloration.Photo: Oetol•er 6. 1984/ArnoldSmall underpartswas finely markedwith darker brown.The front portionof the neck was IN FLIGHT WITH WINGS SPREAD -- very finely streakedwith vertical brown lines. On the sides of the breast the brown !n looking at the spread wings from above,the primaticsand the primaryco- streakswere cros•d at right angles by verts contrasted a darker blackish-brown thindark brownhorizontal bars that pen- etrated a short distance out towards the to most of the rest of the paler brown wing, althoughthe secondariesand par- upper belly. The vertical neck streaks ticularlythe smallerleading rows of less stoppedfairly abruptlyon the lowerneck er wing coverts(including the marginal in an almoststraight line, althoughthere coverts) also contrasted darker. The was a bit of a bulge to the line, in the greaterwing covertsand the secondaries centerof the upperportion of the belly. were tipped with pale, whitish-buff For mostof the belly, down throughthe which formed two ill-defined horizontal undertail coverts, there were no mark- barson the wing. Especiallyconspicuous ings, except for some horizontal dark brown bars on the sides of the vent. The was the pure white primary shaft on the outermost primary. In flight, viewed groundcolor of the flanks was a richer buff color than the remainder of the un- from below, the wing linings were ex- tremelypale grayish-brown, being just a derparts.This was particularlyevident bit darker than the groundcolor of the whencomparing it to the unmarked,pale underparts.Additionally, there was dis- belly. tinct dark blackish-brown horizontal bar- SOFT PARTS-- The fine bill appeared ring on the wing liningsand the axlllar- quite short for a curlew, and was also ies. !n flight the bird appeared very ratherstraight, although there was still an long-wingedand long-tailed. obviousdroop near the tip. The bill was CALL -- The bird was silent most of the bicolored.The upper mandible and the time but on several occasions observers terminal one-third of the lower mandible heardit give a one -- or possiblytwo -- wereblackish. The remainingbasal two- syllabled"ruer." The note was quite soft thirdsof the lowermandible was a sharp- and difficult to hear. Additionally,Leh- ly contrastingfleshy pink color. The legs man believed he heard the bird, when werebluish-gray, and at veryclose range flushed,give a quick two or three note (about20 feet and lookingthrough a 22x call that was flatter, softer, and less shrill Bushnell Spacemaster l! telescope), than the typical Whimbrel call. Dunn and Carol Goodell noted circular IFFFRFNCFSBFTWFFN theLittle Cur- Although it did not directly associate with dark indentationson the front of the legs lewand Eskimo Curlew are given by any other species,the Little Curlew could be that formeda patternof rings. Goodell Farrand(I 977) and Moon (I t•83). These fi•und near Black-beHied Plovers. Greater Yellowlegsand EuropeanStarlings. Note the noted that these rings connectedin the include: off-whiteunderparts with fine dark streaking same manner around the back side of the I) While bothspecies have fine dark bar- to the neckand thefine dark horizontal bar•' legs.Otherwise the legs appeared smooth ring on the underwingcoverts and axil- on the sides. Photo: Oetol•er 6. 1984/Arnold with no other markings. laries, the Little Curlew lacks the rich Small

Volume 39, Number 3 249 The specieswinters only in the South- crn Hemisphere,primarily in northern Australia. and also in eastern Indonesia from the Moluccas eastward to New Guinea. Individuals wintering in Austra- lia typicallyarrive in Septemberor Octo- ber and remain until March. April, or May. In Australia, Little Curlews fre- quentopen areas of shortgrass. including airfieldsand playing fields, marginsof drying swamps, tidal mudflats, crops, andcommercial saltfields (Pizzey 1980). The specieshas wanderedto Tasmania. New Zealand, the Celcbcs, Borneo, and the Philippines(Farrand 1977: Moon 1983). Vagrant recordscome from Ka- zakhastan(September 9, 1928), the Scy- chcllclslands (October 14, 1972-- April 1973). Norway (an adult on July 14, 1969). and Mid Glamorgan.England lan adult August30 -- September6, 1982) (Labutin et al., op. eit: Moon, op. cit). The California sighting establishesthe The spreadupperwing shows the contrastingblackish-brown primaries and primary covertsand a first record for North America and the distinctivepure whitesha. fi on the outermostprimary. Photo:Septentber 18, 1984/AlanS. Hopl,ins New World. cinnamon-buff base color of the Eskimo llF Ll'UllFCURIFW is a rare,al- and. instead, is a much paler buff or though not endangered, species sandycolor. which breeds only in eastern Siberia. 2l The Eskimo Curlew is more boldly Within this relatively small range, nest- REFERENCES andcoarsely marked below, with heavier ing coloniesarc scattered,separated by CRAMP. STANLEY and K. E. L. SIM- streakingon the face and neck and dark hundredsof kilometers,and sporadicin MONS. 1983. Handbook ot •hc birds of chevrons on the breast and flanks: the nature (Labutin et al.. 1982). These colo- Europe. Middlc East, and North Africa. LittleCurlew is morefinely marked,with nies, which containfrom three to thirty vol. Ill: wadersto gulls. OxfordUniversi- chevronsbeing few in numberand con- pairs,are found in opengrassland on dry, ty Press.London and Ncw York. fined to the flanks. well-drainedslopes, in gladesof sparse FARRAND, JOHN, JR. 1977. What to ltx•k 3l The Little Curlew lacks the warm woodlandof latch (Larix sp.) and dwarf for: Eskimoand Littic Curlewscompared. buffy or rusty tones to the underparts birch (BetMa nana). Their habitat is American Bird• 31 (2): 137-138. LABUTIN. Y V.. V. V. LEONOVITCH and shown in the Eskimo Curlew. largelydependent on fire and subsequent B. N. VEPRINTSEV. 1982. The Litlie 4) The Little Curlew has more distinc- recolonizingvegetation, a secondarysuc- Curlew. Numenius minutus, in Siberia. tive crown stipes. cessionalphase • hichhas relict features. Ibi.• 124' 302-319. 5) The Little Curlew has a more exten- The appropriatetundra steppe habitat has MOON. S. J. 1983. Little Whimbrel: new to sive pale pinkisharea to the baseof the dwindled since the Pleistoceneepoch Britain and Ireland. British Birds 76 (10): 438-445. lower mandible, reachingto or beyond owing to the spreadof the predominant PI/ZEY, GRAHAM. 1980. Aficld guide to the middle of the bill. while in the Eski- latch woodlands (Labutin et al., 1982). the birds ol Australia. Princeton Universi- mo Curlew. thispink coloroccupies less The secondary,fire-affected landscapes ly Press.Princeton. New Jersey. than one-half of the lower mandible. which Little Curlews currently utilize PRATER, A. J.. J. H. MARCHANT, and J. 6) In the hand. or at exceedinglyclose havesomewhat replace•t the vanished VOI'RINEN. 1977. Guide to the identifi- range,the rear surfaceof the tarsusin the steppes.During the nestingseason. Little calion and ageing of Holarct•c waders. Little Curlew is covered by transverse Curlewseal a vatlely of insectsand ber- B.T.O. Guide 17. Brilish Trust fi•r Orni- scutcs like those seen on !he front of the ries collected l¾om the surface. Labutin et thology. Tring, Herts., England. ROGERS. MICHAEL J.. K. E. VINI- tarsusof bothspecies. while in the Eski- al. (1982) statethat the speciesarrives on COMBE, and THE BRITISH RARITIES mo Curlew the rear surface is covered the breedinggrounds in late May, and COMMITTEE. 1983.RelX•rt on rarebirds with small. round scales. thatpost-breeding flocks begin to form in in Grcal Britain in 1982. Brittsh Birds 76 The Santa Maria indi•,idual matched thesecond one-half of July. Recordswell ( I ): 496-497. all of theabove criteria for identifyingthe southof the breedinggrounds include a Little Curlew. The aging of the bird as a flock of 100 birds north of Yakutsk. Sibe- --P.O. Box 1061, Goleta, CA 93116 juvenile was basedon the overall fresh- ria, July21-22. 1926. severalflocks near (Lehman), 4710 Detter Drive #7, nessof the plumage.the presenceof fine Lake Baikal beginning in mid-August. Santa Barbara, CA 93110 (Dunn). whitish edges to the coverts, distinct two flocks in northwest Manchuria on whitishedges to thetips of the primaries, August23. 1956. in Mongoliain late Au- and the patterningof the tcrtials. as de- gustand early September.and in Hong scribed in Prater et al. (1977). Kong in October(Labutin et al., op. eit).

250 American Birds. Fall 1985