Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) is a very large mottled-brown wader with long legs and an exceptionally long downcurved bill. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds on moors and wet grasslands and probes estuarine mud for worms, crabs and shellfish outside breeding. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).