Curlew corlieu

The Courlis corlieu ( Numenius phaeopus ) is a bird Limicole of the family of the Scolopacidé S.

Description

The Curlew corlieu is a curlew of intermediate size (40 to 46 cm) to the arched nozzle and the drawing of the characteristic head: fine yellowish summit line, sometimes little marked, but the long paler eyebrows contrast with the broad dark side lines of the cap and the dark lores. The feathers brown dark of the upper parts present variable edgings and serrations, chamois or blanchâtres. The neck and the lower parts are very clear chamois, even blanchâtres. The brown scratches of the neck and the chest evolve/move out of rafters on the sides.

The youthful ones raise a plumage very close to that of the adults but the scapulars, the wing and tertiary covers present clear serrations chamois.

The Curlew corlieu is much smaller than the ashy Courlis ( Numenius arquata ), Courlis with long nozzle ( Numenius americanus ) and Courlis of Siberia ( Numenius madagascariensis ) and has a nozzle proportionally shorter. It resembles more the Courlis of Alaska ( Numenius tahitiensis ) which presents a rather nearby drawing of the head.

Subspecies

The Curlew corlieu is represented by three subspecies:

phaeopus ;
variegatus very near to the preceding one;
hudsonicus at the lower parts plus chamois and the whiter eyebrows.

Habitat

The Curlew corlieu niche in the tundra and subarctic heaths, often close to the limit of the trees.

In migration, it makes halt along the coasts, on the interior wetlands and in the covered meadows of low vegetation.

It winters primarily along the rock or muddy coasts, in the estuaries and on the wet meadows.

Behavior

The Curlew corlieu nourishes itself separately or in small groups but can gather in important resting places. It picore more on the surface that the other curlew but probe however surface of time to other.

Food

This bird nourishes primarily invertebrates such of small crabs.

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