Scientific name: Numenius arquata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Waders
Field characters. 56-63 cm. Female larger than male, with longer bill. Large wader, mainly brown with black markings on upperparts, buff breast with black spots, and white on underparts. No wing bar, but has obvious white rump, extending in wedge onto back. Legs long and grey-blue, bill long and curved downward, in female much longer than in male. Juvenile similar, but with shorter bill. Flight strong and gull-like. Outside breeding season in singles or flocks. Shy and wary, difficult to approach.
Voice. Call slow 'koooee'. Song rising and accelerating 'koo koo koo kooee koorree'.
Distribution. Scarce, but locally common. Locally common outside breeding season.
Habitat. Breeds in dunes, pastures, marshes, etc., with open vegetation cover, but never near or between trees. Feeds in open terrain, like meadows. In winter, in fields, salt marshes and tidal flats.
Food. Invertebrates, mainly taken by probing. Also berries and insects.