A Red Little Curlew or something else?

The first Little Curlews Numenius minutus of the 1989 southwards passage were seen on 6 October on the UPNG playing fields and were seen almost daily, by several observers, until 28 October. They favoured a rugby pitch that was watered regularly. The flock size varied from a minimum of two (when any were present) to a maximum of 18 on 20 October. A flock of presumably the same birds was seen at Moitaka SP, only 4 km as the Little Curlew flies, from UPNG on 20 October.

The "red" Little Curlew was first noted on 16 October amongst a flock of six normally-plumaged Little Curlew and was always seen in the company of Little Curlew. From 16 - 20 October it was observed daily and was last seen on 25 October.

This "red" bird was obviously a curlew, having a black bill, sightly decurved near the tip, which was similar in size and shape to other Little Curlew. Its legs were blue-grey. It had a dark crown with a pale central crown stripe and an obvious, broad, buff supercilium, broadest behind the eye. The "face", neck, breast and belly were cinnamon with no strong streaking. This colour continued onto the flanks, which also appeared unmarked, and onto the underwing coverts (noted in flight). The feathers of the mantle and upper wing coverts also had a cinnamon background colour, giving the bird an overall reddish appearance.

The "red" bird was very similar to the Little Curlew with which it associated, but differed in the following ways. The most obvious distinguishing feature was its colour, rich cinnamon, that was strongest on the breast, flanks and underwing coverts, but which suffused the whole plumage. This bird could be picked out with the naked eye across the width of a rugby pitch (c. 50 m). It stood half-a-head taller than its contempories, although its legs seemed the same length as other Little Curlew. Its wings appeared to extend beyond its tail when standing, and when in flight appeared longer than other Little Curlew. The buff supercilium appeared more pronounced, possibly because the surrounding plumage was darker.

There are only two small Curlews. The Little Curlew breeds in Siberia and winters in Australia (Hayman et al. 1987). It occurs annually in the Port Moresby area, usually in small numbers with most records occuring in October and November (Hicks 1990). The Eskimo Curlew N. borealis is its North American equivalent, which is extremely rare, if not extinct. There have been no confirmed sightings recently and no records for Australasia (Hayman et al. 1987). As might be expected none of the observers of the "red" bird have had any experience of Eskimo Curlew, but all are familiar with Little Curlew. Several features of the "red" bird fit Eskimo Curlew, i.e., its colour especially the cinnamon underwing coverts, its apparent tallness and long wings. However, comparison with field guides (Hayman et al. 1987, National Geographic 1983) and with photographs of Eskimo Curlew indicate a lack of corroborating plumage features (except colour) i.e. lack of heavy barring on breast and flanks.

We think the "red" Little Curlew was just that, an erythrystic bird, but for a while it had our hearts pounding. And it certainly was an attractive bird.

Hayman, P., J.Marchant & T.Prater. 1987. Shorebirds. An idnetification guide to the waders of the world. Helm.
Hicks, R.K. 1990. Arrival and Departure dates in the Port Moresbby area of migrants from the north. Muruk 4: 91-104.

Originally published in Muruk 6(3) co-authored with Dr I. Burrows