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Species of Special Concern
Status
Alaska endangered species; Federal endangered species
Description
Eskimo curlews are medium-sized shorebirds that closely resemble their slightly larger relative, the whimbrel. Eskimo curlews are about 12 inches long and have a slightly downcurved bill. They are dark, rich cinnamon in color and have solid (rather than barred) primary feathers.
Habitats and Habits
Although called a shorebird, this was a species of grasslands and tundra. Flocks of spring migrants once fed on insect eggs on the prairie grasslands of North America. In the mid-1800s, huge flocks of Eskimo curlews migrated from South America to their nesting areas in the Alaska and Canadian arctic. Eskimo curlews formerly nested in the arctic tundra areas of Alaska and northwestern Canada. They fed in open natural grassland and tundra, burned prairies, meadows, and pastures. Fall migration was down the east coast of North America, and spring migration was through the central United States and prairie provinces of Canada. They wintered in the grasslands of southern South America from southern Brazil and Uruguay to middle-eastern Argentina.
Causes of Decline
The evidence is overwhelming that unrestricted market hunting drastically and rapidly reduced the Eskimo curlew's numbers. This decline occurred mainly between 1870 and 1890, following the virtual disappearance of the passenger pigeon (also hunted for the market). Another factor that may have contributed to the curlew's decline, and has prevented its recovery, is habitat loss, primarily to cultivation and grazing. No population counts were ever made for this species, and a current population estimate is not possible.
Historic Range of the Eskimo CurlewResearch and Recovery
The last documented sighting (a sighting verified by a photograph) of an Eskimo curlew was in Texas in 1962. Research efforts in recent years have focussed on trying to document the continued existence of the species (i.e., to observe an Eskimo curlew). Surveys in historical breeding areas, migration routes, and wintering areas have failed to observe a single individual.
Text: Skip Ambrose
For Additional Information
Please contact:
Doug Vincent-Lang
(907) 267-2339
