Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Whimbrel, Daintree, Queensland, Australia, November 2010 - click for larger image Queensland, Australia
November 2010

Whimbrel breed in the subarctic moorlands and tundra in the northern hemisphere and migrate south in the winter to the coastlands of all continents around and south of the Equator. Birds that winter in Australia are of the sub-species N. p. variegatus which breeds in north-east Siberia.

Whimbrel, Daintree, Queensland, Australia, November 2010 - click for larger image They arrive in Australia in about September and leave in May. They are similar to the Far Eastern Curlew N. madagascariensis but are smaller with a much shorter and less curved bill. The crown is dark brown with a buff-grey central stripe.

There are photos of the nominate race on my European page and of the sub-species N. p. hudsonicus on my South American page.

Whimbrel, Daintree, Queensland, Australia, November 2010 - click for larger image More information is available via Avibase.

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