Select Page

Curlew Sandpiper

 

Calidris feruginea

IUCN status: Vulnerable

Flyway population 120 000 (2022 estimate)

Identification

Non-breeding: The overall colour of the upperparts plumage is grey-brown, but the individual feathers have a thin pale fringe and dark centre to them.  The underparts are pale with a streaked grey wash across the breast.  There is a distinct black eye-stripe with white above this going behind the eye.  The bill and legs are black.  The crown is greyish.
Breeding:  The breeding plumage is a deep chestnut-red that covers the head, neck, breast down to mottled belly and white vent.  The upperparts are brown with individual feather bordered with chestnut.  The chin is white.
Juvenile:  Very similar to the non-breeding plumage, though the margins of the feathers on the shoulders and upper wings have buff margins giving a more distinct pattern to the feathers.

Confusing Species

Because of its distinctive down-curved bill should not confused with any other species, but:
Red Knot:  Slightly bigger than the Curlew Sandpiper but has similar plumages both breeding and non-breeding when the bill is not visible.
Red-necked Stint:  Very small wader that is busy like the Curlew Sandpiper, but its small size means that it cannot be mistaken.

Distribution

 

The Curlew Sandpiper breeds in northern Siberia – from  the Yamal Peninsula east to  the Cape of the Chukotka Peninsula. During cold years, this species breeds farther south, into the southern tundra zone. Non-breeding grounds are throughout Africa, the Middle east, India, SE Asia and Australasia.

Monthly reports of Curlew Sandpiper in Queensland

Monthly sightings

Best sites in Queensland to see Curlew Sandpiper

Population trends:

Number of shorebird areas used in the trend analysis: 32

Generation time: 5.5 years (Bird et al. 2020)

Percent change in abundance over three generations: -52.99 (95%CI: -72.34, -18.76)

Percent change in abundance between 1993 and 2021: -84.51 (95%CI: -90.95, -74.38) Percent annual change in abundance between 1993 and 2021: -6.44 (95%CI: -8.22, -4.75)

Percent annual change in abundance between 1993 and 2012: -8.51 (95%CI: -11.34, -5.78)

Percent annual change in abundance between 2012 and 2021: -3.84 (95%CI: -10.25, 3.47)

Change in annual growth rate between 1993-2012 and 2012-2021: 0.050 (95%CI: -0.028, 0.13)

(Data from Rogers,Fuller and Amano 2023 – see ref 4)

Yearly trends in Queensland

International and Nationally Important sites in Queensland

Significant Bird Area Year Peak Count International National
Moreton Bay 2023 3408 Yes Yes
Alva Beach 2021 815 No Yes
SE Gulf of Carpentaria 2020 700 No Yes
Alma Saltworks 2011 585 No Yes
Bowling green bay 2011 573 No Yes
Burdekin River Delta 2018 500 No Yes
Great Sandy Strait 2017 280 No Yes
Mackay 2024 197 No Yes

Conservation 

EPBC listing:  Critically Endangered, Marine, Migratory

Approved conservation advice:

https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/consultation-document-calidris-ferruginea.pdf

Worldwide numbers of curlew sandpipers are declining rapidly. Numbers in Moreton Bay are fairly steady, suggesting that this is a safe haven for the species. Its use of artificial roosts in Moreton Bay is thus an important conservation action.

References

  1. BirdLife Australia (2023). Curlew Sandpiper. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/curlew-sandpiper/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
  2. Mlodinow, S. G. and F. Medrano (2023). Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cursan.02
  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/