CreatureData

Eskimo curlew

Numenius borealis (J. R. Forster, 1772)

CRCritically Endangeredbirds

The eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 350.1 g to 368.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)
Photo: Daderot · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the eskimo curlew

Weight
350.1 g – 368.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
70 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.43src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the eskimo curlew?

ESKIMO CURLEW · WINGSPAN 70 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 70 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the eskimo curlew is about 41% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the eskimo curlew live?

Not recorded

What is the eskimo curlew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis), also known as northern curlew, is a species of curlew in the family Scolopacidae. It was one of the most numerous shorebirds in the tundra of western Arctic Canada and Alaska. Thousands of birds were then killed per year in the late 1800s. As there has not been a reliable sighting since 1987 or a confirmed sighting since 1963, the Eskimo curlew is considered Critically Endangered or possibly extinct. The bird is about 30 cm (12 in) long and feeds mostly on insects and berries.

From the Wikipedia article “Eskimo curlew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eskimo_curlew&oldid=1382443843), 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 eskimo curlew endangered?

The eskimo curlew is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.

How is the eskimo curlew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyScolopacidae
  6. genusNumenius
  7. SpeciesNumenius borealis (J. R. Forster, 1772)

Synonyms Numenius brevirostris, Numenius hemirhynchus, Phaeopus borealis, Scolopax borealis

Other names and names in other languages (51)
  • Boreal curlewEnglish
  • Esquimaux curlewEnglish
  • Northern curlewEnglish
  • كروان الأسكيموArabic
  • Ескимоски свирецBulgarian
  • Kefeleg-SterennBreton
  • polit esquimalCatalan
  • koliha severníCzech
  • gylfinir y GogleddWelsh
  • EskimobrachvogelGerman
  • Eskimo-BrachvogelGerman
  • eskimokurloEsperanto
  • Eskima kurloEsperanto
  • Chorlo PolarSpanish
  • Chorlito EsquimalSpanish
  • Playero esquimalSpanish
  • Zarapito borealSpanish
  • Zarapito esquimalSpanish
  • Zarapito PolarSpanish
  • põhjakoovitajaEstonian
  • eskimokuoviFinnish
  • Courlis esquimauFrench
  • Crotach ArtachIrish
  • Crottag ArctaghManx
  • eskimski pozviždačCroatian
  • eszkimópólingHungarian
  • NorðspóiIcelandic
  • chiurlo borealeItalian
  • Chiurlo eschimeseItalian
  • エスキモーコシャクシギJapanese
  • 에스키모쇠부리도요Korean
  • eskiminė kuolingaLithuanian
  • eskimosu kuitalaLatvian
  • EskimowulpDutch
  • eskimospoveNorwegian
  • kulik eskimoskiPolish
  • kulik długodziobyPolish
  • maçarico-esquimóPortuguese
  • эскимосский кроншнепRussian
  • EskimoguškkástatNorthern Sami
  • hvizdák krátkozobýSlovak
  • eskimski škurhSlovenian
  • Eskimska carska šljukaSerbian
  • bärspovSwedish
  • eskimåspovSwedish
  • Kuzey KervançulluğuTurkish
  • eskimo kervan çulluğuTurkish
  • Кульон ескімоськийUkrainian
  • Кроншнеп ескімоськийUkrainian
  • 极北杓鹬Chinese
  • 極北杓鷸Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the eskimo curlew

Other species in the same genus Numenius.

CompareEskimo curlew vs Eurasian curlewEskimo curlew vs Eurasian whimbrelEskimo curlew vs Slender-billed curlewEskimo curlew vs Far eastern curlew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the eskimo curlew?

An adult eskimo curlew weighs 350.1 g – 368.5 g and has a wingspan of 70 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the eskimo curlew endangered?

The eskimo curlew is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the eskimo curlew?

The eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eskimo-curlew

MLA

“Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eskimo-curlew.

BibTeX
@misc{eskimo_curlew_2026,
  title = {Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eskimo-curlew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}