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The Numenius category of birds includes curlews and whimbrels from all over the world. Their soul-stirring cries and incredible migrations are awe-inspiring. Most of the Numenius species are long-distance migrants. They are ground nesting birds that have two very different lifestyles - one on their breeding grounds and another on their non-breeding territories. They are specialists in both places. On their breeding grounds, they usually favor open, often semi-natural habitats where they feed on insects and berries. On their non-breeding territories, they often live in coastal habitats and inter-tidal zones where they feed on crustaceans.
The adults are long-lived and have high survival rates from year to year. Nest predation is a major problem and few eggs hatch successfully to produce young. Also, the precocial chicks have low rates of survival to fledging. The rate of decline of the Numenius birds is masked by the longevity of the adults. Once the adults are gone, the species are more susceptible to extinction if not enough young birds survive to replace them. The result is that populations of Numenius birds are declining. The rate of decline is often such that they are placed on lists of concern for possible extinction. In fact, two of the Numenius species are already thought to be gone or are so rare as to be on the verge of extinction - the Eskimo Curlew of the Americas, and the Slender-billed Curlew of Eurasia.
There are many reasons to want to conserve the Numenius birds. Anyone who has heard their shorebird cries will never forget them. Anyone who is aware of their phenomenal migrations cannot help but be impressed. Anyone who watches them as they go about their daily lives must admire them. These birds do us no harm.
The author describes each of the Numenius species, along with their breeding and non-breeding lifestyles, their migrations, their historical and current abundance, and the threats they face.
The author was privileged to watch one special female Long-billed Curlew on her nonbreeding grounds over many years. The activities of this special Curlew are described in the second section of the book.
