The Whimbrel is a big, brown shorebird with a long, down-curved bill and a boldly striped head. It nests on the Arctic tundra of Alaska and northern Canada, and most Americans see it on spring and fall migration along the coasts, often hunting fiddler crabs in salt marshes.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 15–18.5 in (37–47 cm) long, with a 30–35 in (75–90 cm) wingspan, weighing 9.5–17 oz (270–490 g). Mottled gray-brown, with a boldly striped head—a pale central crown stripe and pale eyebrows—and a long bill that curves down near the tip. North American birds have a brown ; Old World birds that stray here may show a white rump in flight.
- Voice
- A rippling whistle of about seven quick notes.
Look-alikes
Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
Long-billed Curlew is much bigger (20–25.5 in / 50–65 cm) with a far longer bill, cinnamon-buff neck and belly, and a streaked crown without the Whimbrel's bold head stripes.
Why they get mixed upBoth are large brown shorebirds with long, down-curved bills.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Salt marshes
- Tidal flats
- Beaches
- Arctic tundra (breeding)
- Range
- North American birds breed in Alaska, northwestern Canada, and around Hudson Bay, and winter on coasts from the southern U.S. to South America. On the Atlantic coast, the lagoons of Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula are a major spring stopover.
- Seasonal presence
- Migrant; mainly seen in spring and fall passage, with some wintering on southern coasts.
- Preferred conditions
- On fall migration along the Massachusetts coast, they feed almost entirely in salt marshes.
- Migration
- In Massachusetts, southbound birds pass from July through late September, and some linger up to a month. In spring, birds build up energy on fiddler crabs at stopovers such as the Delmarva Peninsula before the final flight north.
- When to see it
In Massachusetts
Present Jul–Sep
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly crabs and other small invertebrates probed from mud or picked off the surface; fiddler crabs are a staple in East Coast salt marshes. Berries matter before migration.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A bare scrape on tundra or Arctic moorland.
- Clutch size
- 3–5 eggs
- Incubation
- 27–28 days, shared by both parents
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some world bird lists now treat the North American birds as a separate species, the Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus), split around 2019–2020 on genetic, plumage, and range differences; others still count all whimbrels as one species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Market hunting in the late 1800s took a heavy toll. Numbers recovered, but North American populations have dropped sharply in recent decades and are of high conservation concern.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The name "whimbrel" is thought to imitate the bird's call, and an old English nickname was "seven whistler."
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.