| The curlews, genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills. In Europe "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata. Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground, searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items. Curlews enjoy a world-wide distribution. Most species show strong migratory habits and consequently one or more species can be encountered at different times of the year in Europe, the British Isles, Iberia, Iceland, Africa, Southeast Asia, Siberia, North America, South America and Australasia. The distribution of curlews has altered considerably in the past hundred years as a result of changing agricultural practices. Reclamation and drainage of marshy fields and moorland, and afforestation of the latter, have led to local decreases, while conversion of forest to grassland in some parts of Scandinavia has led to increases there. The stone-curlews are not true curlews (family Scolopacidae) but members of the family Burhinidae, which is in the same order Charadriiformes, but only distantly related within that. Species in taxonomic order Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris - critically endangered, possibly extinct (early 21st century?)
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis
Little Curlew Numenius minutus
Eskimo Curlew Numenius borealis - critically endangered, possibly extinct (early 1960s?)
Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis
The Late Eocene (Montmartre Formation, some 35 mya) fossil Limosa gypsorum of France was originally placed in Numenius and may in fact belong there. Apart from that, a Late Pleistocene curlew from San Josecito Cave, Mexico has been described. This fossil was initially placed in a distinct genus, Palnumenius, but was actually a chronospecies or paleosubspecies related to the Long-billed Curlew.
The Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) is an odd bird which is the closest relative of the curlews. It is distinguished from them by its yellow legs, long tail, and shorter, less curved bill. |
| Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby (3 April 1683 - December 1749) was an English naturalist. Between 1731 and 1743 Catesby published his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, the first published account of the flora and fauna of North America. It included 220 plates of birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, insects, and mammals. Life and works
Catesby was baptized at Castle Hedingham, Essex. His father was a lawyer and gentleman farmer. An acquaintance with the naturalist John Ray led to his becoming interested in natural history. Catesby studied natural history in London before going to stay with his sister in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1712. The death of his father six years earlier had left him enough to live on. After a visit to the West Indies in 1714, he returned to Virginia, and then home to England in 1719. Catesby had collected seeds and botanical specimens in Virginia, which he had sent to a Hoxton nurseryman. Thomas Fairchild. This made his name known to other scientists in England, and in 1722 he was recommended by William Sherard to undertake a plant-collecting expedition to Carolina on behalf of the Royal Society. Catesby settled in Charlestown, and traveled to other parts of eastern North America and the West Indies, collecting plants and birds. Many of these specimens were sent to Hans Sloane in London. Catesby returned to England in 1726. Catesby spent the next seventeen years preparing his Natural History. Publication was financed by an interest-free loan from one of the fellows of the Royal Society, the Quaker Peter Collinson. Catesby was the first to use folio-sized coloured plates in natural history books. He learnt how to etch the plates himself. The first eight plates had no backgrounds, but from then on Catesby included plants with his animals. He completed the first volume in 1731, and in February 1733 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. The second volume was completed in 1743, and in 1746 he produced a supplement from material sent to him by friends in America, particularly John Bartram. Catesby died just before Christmas 1749, and was buried on December 23rd. Carolus Linnaeus included much of the information in the Natural History in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae (1758). |
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