Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata (Linnaeus, 1758)

2021-04-16 neighborhood of the village of Mikhailovka	© Aziza Abdurakhmanova

Biology

Common breeding migrant. Inhabits the feather-grass steppes, meadows in river valleys, the saline soil or meadow lands near the lakes and rivers. In spring appears in mid-March – early April, intensive traffic of migration observed in April; migrates in small groups and flocks, sometimes numbering up to one hundred birds. Breeds in separate pairs at least 0.5 km one of other. Nest is built on dry ground in shallow hole, and is lined with dry grass. Both parents incubate for 26-28 days and care for juveniles. Clutches of 4 eggs is in May – early June, chicks are born in the end of May – mid-June. In post-breeding time broods join in flocks and disperse on steppe. Regularly visits the watering places. Migration begins in July – August; fly in big flocks numbering up to several hundreds birds, the latest birds registered in end of October.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург. Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.