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Stone Curlew
Burhinus oedicnemus oedicnemus
IUCN Status: Least concern.
Size: Length; 44cm. Weight; 535g.
Habitat and distribution: Britain, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine and Caucasus. Semi-arid, steppe grassland, heath, arable fields and coastal dunes.
Age: 18 years.
Breeding: Nest in a scrape in the ground lined with grass. Lay up to 3 eggs which are incubated for around 26 days.
Diet: Invertebrates, small rodents and reptiles
- Nine species make up the family Burhinidae (thick-knees).
- The scientific name Oedicnemus derives from the Greek for 'swollen shinned' (thick-knee). In the UK, Stone Curlews were formerly widespread up into the Cotswolds, Yorkshire and the East Midlands. They are now found mainly in Brecklands and Wessex, with a few pairs elsewhere in East Anglia. (Local names include 'Norfolk plover' and 'Goggle eyes'.)
- Their plumage colour offers them camouflage against their generally sandy habitat.
- The species is not related to the curlew; the common name comes from the Stone Curlew's repeated 'kur-lee' call.
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