Eurasian curlew

The Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata, is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae found across temperate Europe and Asia, measuring 50 to 60 centimeters long with a wingspan of 89 to 106 centimeters, making it the largest wading bird in its range. It has mainly greyish brown plumage, a white back, and a long, distinctively downcurved bill. It is migratory across most of its range, wintering in Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia, while remaining year round in milder places such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it is often simply called the curlew or, in Scotland, the whaup. Once listed as Least Concern, it was upgraded to Near Threatened in 2008 after rapid declines, with UK and Irish populations falling by 50 to 90 percent since 1996.