CreatureData

Far eastern curlew

Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)

ENEndangeredbirds

The far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 697.2 g to 824.8 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
Photo: DickDaniels ( http://theworldbirds.org/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the far eastern curlew

Weight
697.2 g – 824.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
97 cm – 1.1 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

How big is the far eastern curlew?

FAR EASTERN CURLEW · WINGSPAN 1.1 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.1 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the far eastern curlew is about 65% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the far eastern curlew 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 far eastern curlew is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the far eastern curlew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Far Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is a large wader most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing, and brown rump. It is not only the largest curlew but probably the world's largest sandpiper, at 60–66 cm (24–26 in) in length and 110 cm (43 in) across the wings. The weight is 390–1,350 g (0.86–2.98 lb), which is equalled by the Eurasian curlew; females are on average about 100 g heavier than males. The extremely long bill, at 12.8–20.1 cm (5.0–7.9 in) in length, rivals the bill size of the closely related long-billed curlew as the longest bill for a sandpiper. It overlaps in range with the eastern subspecies of the Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata orientalis, from which it is most easily told by its brown rump and lower back, rather than white.

From the Wikipedia article “Far Eastern curlew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Far_Eastern_curlew&oldid=1384053342), 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 far eastern curlew endangered?

The far eastern curlew is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very 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 Endangered species.

How is the far eastern curlew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyScolopacidae
  6. genusNumenius
  7. SpeciesNumenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Numenius cyanopus, Scolopax madagascariensis

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Eastern curlewEnglish
  • كروان الشرق الأقصىArabic
  • Източен свирецBulgarian
  • Kefeleg ar reterBreton
  • becut siberiàCatalan
  • koliha východníCzech
  • gylfinir y DwyrainWelsh
  • ØstspoveDanish
  • IsabellbrachvogelGerman
  • Isabell-BrachvogelGerman
  • orienta kurloEsperanto
  • Zarapito siberianoSpanish
  • idakoovitajaEstonian
  • گیلانشاه شرقیPersian
  • گیلانشاه خاوریPersian
  • ohotankuoviFinnish
  • Courlis de SibérieFrench
  • Crotach oirthearachIrish
  • חרמשון מזרח רחוקHebrew
  • dugokljuni pozviždačCroatian
  • távol-keleti pólingHungarian
  • Gajahan timurIndonesian
  • Chiurlo orientaleItalian
  • ホウロクシギJapanese
  • 알락꼬리마도요Korean
  • rytinė kuolingaLithuanian
  • lielā kuitalaLatvian
  • Мадагаскар тутгалжинMongolian
  • Burung Kedidi TimorMalay
  • Chʼah Diʼilii Bikéyahdę́ę́ʼ daakʼį́į́ʼNavajo
  • Siberische wulpDutch
  • AustspoveNorwegian Nynorsk
  • kulik syberyjskiPolish
  • چڑدا کرلیوWestern Panjabi
  • maçarico-orientalPortuguese
  • maçarico-siberianoPortuguese
  • Дальневосточный кроншнепRussian
  • ДьиэрэҥYakut
  • hvizdák tmavochrbtýSlovak
  • Dalekoistočna carska šljukaSerbian
  • orientspovSwedish
  • นกอีก๋อยตะโพกสีน้ำตาลThai
  • Uzakdoğulu KervançulluğuTurkish
  • кульон східнийUkrainian
  • ngurwinarriwingxdk
  • 大杓鹬Chinese
  • 大杓鷸Chinese
  • 紅腰杓鷸Chinese
  • 黦鷸Chinese
  • 黦鷸〔紅腰杓鷸〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the far eastern curlew

Other species in the same genus Numenius.

CR, Critically Endangered
Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)

Eskimo curlew

Numenius borealis

Scolopacidae

CompareFar eastern curlew vs Eurasian curlewFar eastern curlew vs Eurasian whimbrelFar eastern curlew vs Slender-billed curlewFar eastern curlew vs Eskimo curlew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the far eastern curlew?

An adult far eastern curlew weighs 697.2 g – 824.8 g and has a wingspan of 97 cm – 1.1 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the far eastern curlew live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the far eastern curlew for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the far eastern curlew endangered?

The far eastern curlew is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the far eastern curlew?

The far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) 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). Far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/far-eastern-curlew

MLA

“Far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/far-eastern-curlew.

BibTeX
@misc{far_eastern_curlew_2026,
  title = {Far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/far-eastern-curlew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}