Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew has surged: up 419% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
About the Long-billed Curlew
The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) is a North American member of the Sandpipers & Allies (Scolopacidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the shorebirds.
- Size
- 5–26 in long (13–66 cm) — a probing shorebird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Shorelines, mudflats, beaches, flooded fields and wet meadows.
- Diet
- Invertebrates probed or picked from mud, sand and shallow water.
- Range
- Recorded on 453 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 16 states, most concentrated in the Great Basin.
- Family
- Scolopacidae · Shorebirds
Notable Long-billed Curlew Trends
Long-billed Curlew has surged in surveyed states: up 419% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
Long-billed Curlew Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Long-billed Curlew is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.37 (95% range 0.26–0.48). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±6%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.36 | 0.25 | 0.46 |
| 2026 | 0.36 | 0.25 | 0.47 |
| 2027 | 0.36 | 0.26 | 0.47 |
| 2028 | 0.37 | 0.26 | 0.47 |
| 2029 | 0.37 | 0.26 | 0.48 |
Where the Long-billed Curlew Is Detected
BBS routes recording Long-billed Curlew, sized by most recent count.
Long-billed Curlew Population Trend by State
| California | -95% | 1972 | 22 |
| Colorado | -92% | 1973 | 33 |
| Idaho | +27% | 1972 | 38 |
| Kansas | -20% | 1974 | 6 |
| Montana | +407% | 1970 | 77 |
| Nebraska | -21% | 1969 | 25 |
| Nevada | +361% | 1970 | 23 |
| New Mexico | -38% | 1970 | 23 |
| North Dakota | +24% | 1973 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | +275% | 1971 | 5 |
| Oregon | +4% | 1971 | 45 |
| South Dakota | +70% | 1969 | 27 |
| Texas | +237% | 1969 | 29 |
| Utah | -11% | 1970 | 32 |
| Washington | -85% | 1976 | 24 |
| Wyoming | +118% | 1981 | 39 |
Long-billed Curlew Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Great Basin | +92% | 1970 | 145 |
| Northern Rockies | +76% | 1970 | 78 |
| Prairie Potholes | 15× | 1970 | 20 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +38% | 1991 | 12 |
| Badlands and Prairies | +260% | 1969 | 76 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -10% | 1969 | 71 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -29% | 1969 | 18 |
| Coastal California | -60% | 1972 | 9 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +12% | 1975 | 12 |
Long-billed Curlew Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 419% since 1969. Many shorebirds have declined steeply, reflecting pressure on the coastal and wetland stopovers they depend on.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.