Bush Stone-curlew

Identification

Adult: Most of the head and neck is grey with black streaks.  There is a white supercilium and a black line that runs down the side of the neck.  The chin and front of the neck are white.  The rest of the upper plumage is a darker grey, with black streaks. The underparts are a lighter grey and lightly streaked.  The eye is yellow.  The bill is mid-length, thick and black.  The legs are long and olive-yellow. Bush-Stone-curlews can either be grey or rufous morphs that are very similar. Rufous morphs have a rufous-brown wash on the chin, throat, breast, upper belly and flanks.
Juvenile:  Similar to the adult, but usually slightly paler, with downy feathers on head.

Confusing Species

Beach Stone-curlew: Its plainer plumage and more distinctive facial pattern means that there should not be any real confusion between these two species.

Distribution

Throughout the dry woodland areas of Australia, except Tasmania where it is absent.  It needs water nearby.

Migratory habits

Resident.  Flocks can congregate and travel over many kilometres.

Breeding

The eggs are laid on the ground in a shallow scrape, in dry slightly timbered woodland, parkland, golf courses and any open areas.  Usually two eggs are laid.

Yearly trends in Queensland

References

1. Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
2. Hume, R., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.butkne1.01
3. eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available:  http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
4. Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
5. Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
6. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/