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The Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) is a bird found in Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, France, and 2 more countries. Wet meadows and estuaries across Europe and Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.

🏡 Where the Eurasian curlew lives

Wet meadows and estuaries across Europe and Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs40%
• 🍎 Fruit30%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts30%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Eurasian curlew

Recorded by Lars Edenius (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1106780. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Eurasian curlew

Where does the Eurasian curlew live?

The Eurasian curlew lives in Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, France, and 2 more countries. Wet meadows and estuaries across Europe and Asia.

What does the Eurasian curlew eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), fruit (about 30%), seeds and nuts (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Eurasian curlew endangered?

Not in danger yet, but it could be soon. Its IUCN Red List category is Near Threatened.

More birds from Europe

• European pied flycatcher
• Wood sandpiper
• Common shelduck
• Eurasian wigeon
• Western house martin
• Lesser black-backed gull

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.