A curlew is a large, long coastal bird belonging to the Scolopacidae family. They have long legs and their bills are long and curved in downward direction. The bills have been adapted in this way to find insects under the soils and sediments. The most commonly found species are the long-billed curlew, scientifically known as Numenius americanus and the whimbre or Hudsonian curlew, scientifically known as N. phaeopus. Long-billed curlews are found in the western United States and south-western Canada, southern California and Gulf of Mexico. The population rate of long-billed curlews is gradually decreasing because of the possibly unregulated use of pesticides. The whimbres are available in the coastal Alaska, north-western Canada, Central and South America, some parts of Pacific Islands, some parts of Eurasia and west coast of Hudson Bay. The bristle-thigh curlew, scientifically known as N. tahitiensis, is a rare species mainly found in western Alaska. The species called Eskimo curlew, scientifically known as N. borealis, primarily available in Northern America, is on the verge of extinction due to uncontrolled and devious human exploitation.
