birdsSea Birds

Beach Stone-curlew

The Beach Stone-curlew, Esacus giganteus also known as Beach Thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird.

Beach Stone-curlew
Beach Stone-curlew

Distribution

It occurs in Australasia and the islands of South-east Asia.

The Beach Stone-curlew is a resident of undisturbed open beaches, exposed reefs, mangroves, and tidal sand or mudflats over a large range, including coastal eastern Australia as far south as far eastern Victoria, the northern Australian coast and nearby islands, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

It is uncommon over most of its range, and rare south of Cairns.

Status

The Beach Stone-curlew is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Closeup Image of Beach Stone-curlew
Closeup Image of Beach Stone-curlew

Description

It is less strictly nocturnal than most stone-curlews, and can sometimes be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing slow, rather stiff wingbeats.

Breeding

A single egg is laid just above the high tide line on the open beach, where it is vulnerable to predation and human disturbance.

 
Stone-Curlew InformationStone-Curlew Photo Gallery

 

Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org … Additional information and photos added by Avianweb.


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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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