Bird’s ID – Hudsonian Whimbrel – # 220

The Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America. This species and the Eurasian whimbrel have recently been split, although some taxonomic authorities still consider them to be conspecific.

The whimbrel is a migratory bird wintering on coasts in southern North America and South America. It is also a coastal bird during migration. It is fairly gregarious outside the breeding season.

In the mangroves of Colombia, whimbrel roost sites are located in close proximity to feeding territories and away from potential sources of mainland predators, but not away from areas of human disturbance.

This is a fairly large wader though mid-sized as a member of the curlew genus. The English name is imitative of the bird’s call. The genus name Numenius is from Ancient Greek noumenios, a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlews because it appears to be derived from neos, “new” and mene “moon”, referring to the crescent-shaped bill.

It is 37–47 cm (15–19 in) in length, 75–90 cm (30–35 in) in wingspan, and 270–493 g (9.5–17.4 oz; 0.595–1.087 lb) in weight. It is mainly greyish brown, with a white back, and a long curved bill (longest in the adult female) with a kink rather than a smooth curve. It is generally wary.

The only similar common species over most of this bird’s range are larger curlews. The whimbrel is smaller, has a shorter, decurved bill and has a central crown stripe and strong supercilia.

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4 thoughts on “Bird’s ID – Hudsonian Whimbrel – # 220”

tootlepedal on March 22, 2020 at 7:02 pm said:

That is a big list HJ.

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- H.J. for avian101 on March 22, 2020 at 8:56 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Tom. 🙂
  
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Birder's Journey on March 23, 2020 at 1:39 pm said:

What a terrifically informative post about this bird – thank you, HJ. I am always intending to learn more about the beautiful shorebirds that we have here in Florida.

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- H.J. for avian101 on March 23, 2020 at 2:08 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much, Carol. 🙂
  
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H.J. Ruiz – Avian101