Long-billed curlew
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
The startlingly long and recurved bills of long-billed curlews are usually used for probing deeply into mudflats, but I've also seen them hunting mice in newly-flooded fields. The two curlews pictured above above were at the mouth of the San Diego River and in nearby Mission Bay in southern California (note the curious overhanging 'drip tip' on the upper bill). Many of the birds below were photographed at Bolsa Chica wetlands, in coastal Orange County, California. Others were photographed in southwest Florida.
Go to this page for images of long-billed curlews in flight.
