---
title: "Eurasian Curlew"
description: "Numenius arquata — Birds. The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (Numenius arquata) is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/eurasian-curlew
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eurasian Curlew

> Numenius arquata — Birds. The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (Numenius arquata) is a very large wader in the  family Scolopacidae.

- Scientific name: *Numenius arquata*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 29500
- Wikidata: [Q18854](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18854)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3896](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3896)

## Names

- en: Eurasian Curlew
- de: Großer Brachvogel
- es: Zarapito real
- fr: Courlis cendré
- nl: Wulp
- pt: Maçarico-real
- pl: Kulik wielki

## Countries with the most observations

GB (7138), RU (3628), DE (2095), FR (1831), NL (1128), IT (834), IE (776), ES (694), IN (587), DK (544), PT (533), AT (514)

## Summary

The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (Numenius arquata) is a very large wader in the  family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_curlew

## Photo

![Eurasian Curlew](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eurasian-curlew/medium.jpg)

Photo: Morten DD Hansen · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16011400

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eurasian-curlew?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).