Curlew sandpiper
Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan, 1763)
The curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a small bird in the family Scolopacidae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a migratory aquatic predator and carnivore of coastal habitats, with a terrestrial foraging lifestyle.
Quick facts about the curlew sandpiper
Adults weigh 58 g, with a highest reported body mass of 63.3 g, and the wingspan is 44 cm. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 58.1 g – 63.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 44 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 19.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 19.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 20.7 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the curlew sandpiper?
Photos of the curlew sandpiper
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the curlew sandpiper live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The curlew sandpiper is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the curlew sandpiper?
The curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a small wader. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in the bogs and coastal lowlands of the Siberian Arctic, arriving there in June and staying until August or September. After the breeding season, it migrates south to spend the winter in Africa and along the coasts of Oceania and southern Eurasia, occupying tidal mudflats and saltpans.
It has three main plumages that change with maturity and season. The non-breeding plumage shows brown-greyish upperparts and white underparts. The breeding plumage is much more striking, with the entire front tinted a deep rusty colour, more intensely so in males. The first-year bird does not migrate or breed, instead remaining in its overwintering range throughout the breeding season. It may occasionally moult into its breeding plumage, which is largely similar to that of an adult but with white spots on the chest. The non-breeding juvenile plumage is also like that of an adult, except with creamy-coloured streaking on the breast and pale fringes on some of the wing feathers, leading to a scaly appearance. Adults superficially resemble the larger but shorter-billed red knot and the red phalarope in breeding plumage, and the dunlin and stilt sandpiper while not breeding. Juveniles may be confused with the larger and yellow-legged juvenile ruff, or the juvenile dunlin, which has a streaked chest.
The curlew sandpiper's courtship behaviour is complex and involves several distinct displays. In one, the male constructs a faux nest on the ground to present to the female. Another is a graceful aerial chase accompanied by frequent warbling calls. In a third, the male dances around the female on the ground, displaying his tail feathers and rump; this display sometimes culminates in copulation. The female almost always lays one clutch of eggs, usually around the end of June, which hatch after 20 days and fully fledge at 14–20 days. Chicks are relatively mature and mobile at birth. The curlew sandpiper's breeding success is linked to the lemming population; in years with many lemmings, its predators hunt them instead. It is omnivorous, foraging in large flocks in wetlands for various invertebrates, including crabs and insects.
The curlew sandpiper is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List because land development and the invasive smooth cordgrass have caused significant habitat loss to its overwintering and migratory sites, and climate change has lowered its breeding productivity. The curlew sandpiper has an estimated annual survival rate of 75–80%.
From the Wikipedia article “Curlew sandpiper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curlew_sandpiper&oldid=1379041727), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the curlew sandpiper endangered?
The curlew sandpiper is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the curlew sandpiper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusCalidris
- SpeciesCalidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan, 1763)
Synonyms Ancylocheilus subarquata, Calidris cooperi, Calidris ferruginea, Calidris subarquata, Calidris testacea, Ereunetes ferrugineus, Erolia ferruginea, Erolia ferruginea, Erolia ferruginea wilsoni, Erolia testacea, Erolia variegata, Falcinellus cursorius, Numenius africanus, Numenius ferrugineus, Numenius pygmaeus, Numenius pygmaeus, Numenius subarquata, Pelidna arquata, Pelidna subarquata, Scolopax africana, Scolopax dethardingii, Scolopax testacea, Tringa ferruginea, Tringa ferrugineus, Tringa pygmaea, Tringa subarcuata, Tringa subarquata, Tringa subarquata
Other names and names in other languages (61)
- Curlew sanspiperEnglish
- كروان الماءArabic
- دريجة كروانيةArabic
- mazaricu ferruñosuAsturian
- ЧырвонаваллёвiкBelarusian
- Кривоклюн брегобегачBulgarian
- Sourouc'han beg krommBreton
- territ becllargCatalan
- jespák křivozobýCzech
- pibydd cambigWelsh
- Pibyddion CambigWelsh
- krumnæbbet ryleDanish
- SichelstrandläuferGerman
- Sichel-StrandläuferGerman
- ΔρεπανοσκαλίδραGreek
- kurbabeka kalidroEsperanto
- Correlimos zarapitínSpanish
- kõvernokk-rüdi e. kõvernokk-rislaEstonian
- تلیله بلوطیPersian
- kuovisirriFinnish
- Rey›grælingurFaroese
- Bécasseau cocorliFrench
- gobadáinín crotaighIrish
- gobadán crotaighScottish Gaelic
- Luatharan guilbneachScottish Gaelic
- Leayrane crottaghManx
- חופית מגליתHebrew
- krivokljuni žalarCroatian
- sarlós partfutóHungarian
- Kedidi golgolIndonesian
- SpóatítaIcelandic
- Piovanello comuneItalian
- サルハマシギJapanese
- 붉은갯도요Korean
- Pyber gelvynakCornish
- riestasnapis bėgikasLithuanian
- līkšņibītisLatvian
- vikivikimenaMalagasy
- белокрстен свиркачMacedonian
- കടൽക്കാടMalayalam
- krombekstrandloperDutch
- tundrasnipeNorwegian Nynorsk
- biegus krzywodziobyPolish
- pilrito-de-bico-compridoPortuguese
- fugaci roşcatRomanian
- КраснозобикRussian
- GuškilvirošNorthern Sami
- duottarčovžžošNorthern Sami
- duottarvirošNorthern Sami
- pobrežník krivozobýSlovak
- srpokljuni prodnikSlovenian
- krivokljuni prodnikSlovenian
- Riđa sprutkaSerbian
- spovsnäppaSwedish
- นกชายเลนปากโค้งThai
- kızıl kum kuşuTurkish
- Побережник червоногрудийUkrainian
- 滸鷸Chinese
- 弯嘴滨鹬Chinese
- 彎嘴濱鷸Chinese
- 彎嘴濱鷸〔滸鷸〕Chinese
Relatives of the curlew sandpiper
Other species in the same genus Calidris.
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Red knot
Calidris canutus
Little stint
Calidris minuta
Temminck's stint
Calidris temminckii
CompareCurlew sandpiper vs RuffCurlew sandpiper vs SanderlingCurlew sandpiper vs DunlinCurlew sandpiper vs Red knot
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the curlew sandpiper?
The curlew sandpiper is a small bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. It is migratory.
Is the curlew sandpiper endangered?
The curlew sandpiper is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment, which is a threatened category.
How much does a curlew sandpiper weigh?
An adult Curlew sandpiper weighs 58 g, and the highest body mass reported by our sources is 63.3 g.
What does the curlew sandpiper eat?
The curlew sandpiper is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
How long does a curlew sandpiper live?
The curlew sandpiper lives up to 19.7 years, according to the highest value reported by our sources.
How many eggs does the curlew sandpiper lay?
The curlew sandpiper lays 4 eggs per clutch, and incubation lasts 20.7 days.
Which countries is the curlew sandpiper recorded in?
Checklists record the curlew sandpiper in Australia.
Who named the curlew sandpiper?
The curlew sandpiper was named Calidris ferruginea by (Pontoppidan, 1763).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/curlew-sandpiper
“Curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/curlew-sandpiper.
@misc{curlew_sandpiper_2026,
title = {Curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/curlew-sandpiper},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}