There has not been a rebuttal to this extraordinary claim of an
Eskimo Curlew, so I offer my views. The poor quality photos show no
diagnostic characters of an Eskimo Curlew. Its size cannot be
properly evaluated. The wings linings appear gray not tawny. The bill
seems too heavy, too deep-based, too long, and too strongly decurved
for an Eskimo Curlew.

The accepted sightings in Texas from 1945 to the 1960s never reported
more than two birds (Oberholser 1974). The last photograph of an
Eskimo Curlew was taken in March 1962 in Texas, reproduced in The
Shorebird Guide 2006. The last specimen was shot in the Barbados,
West Indies, on 4 September 1963. I have often wondered if bird in
the 1962 Texas photo and the 1963 Barbados specimen are the same
individual given that there were perhaps only three very old Eskimo
Curlews alive in 1963. There is no evidence that any of the claimed
sightings since the 1960s was correctly identified. None was accepted
by a museum authority or records committee. Most authorities state
that the Eskimo Curlew is "presumed extinct". The recent photos from
the Netherlands do not change its status. The Eskimo Curlew probably
has been extinct for almost 50 years.

This is my only post about this bird.

Ron Pittaway
Minden, Ontario
Canada


At 06:48 PM 7/2/2008, you wrote:
>Have a look here please:
>
>http://members.lycos.nl/radioactiverobins/snipes-waders/eskimo%20curlew%20numenius%20borealis.htm
>
>Cheers, Norman