Eurasian Curlew – Belarus’s Bird of the Year 2011

On March14,2011  the Ministry of Communications and Information of the Republic of Belarus issued the stamp “Eurasian curlew” from the series “Bird of the year”.

The public organization  “Ahova ptushak
Batskaushchyny”(Protection of Homeland
Birds) declared Eurasian curlew the bird of the year 2011 in Belarus.

There are logos of the International organization for the protection of birds “BirdLife International" and Belarus public organization "Ahova ptushak Batskaushchyny" (APB)on the stamps.

Eurasian curlew, or Numenius arquata  is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is the one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. This is a migratory species over most of its range, wintering in Africa, southern Europe and south Asia.  It is present all year in the milder climate of Ireland, Great Britain and the adjacent European coasts.

The largest wader in its range, at 50–57 cm length, and a 1 m wingspan. It is mainly greyish brown, with a white back, and a very long curved bill. Males and females look identical, but the bill is longest in the adult female.

Highly gregarious outside the breeding season, the Eurasian Curlew feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates, but will also pick small crabs and earthworms off the surface if the opportunity arises.The nest is a bare scrape on taiga, meadow or similar habitat. 3-6 eggs are laid in April/May, and incubated for about a month to hatching.

Formerly classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed.This is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

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