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ESKIMO CURLEW 



(Numenius borealis Forster) 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Aves 



ORDER. Charadriiformes 



FAMILY Charadriidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES Doughbird, fute, prairie 



pigeon, pipi-pi-uk or tura-tura 



courlis du nord or Corbigeau 



des Esquimaux, chittering 



curlew, zarapito, Chorlo 



campino and Chorlo grande. 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS To be determined 



Updates To be determined 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Endangered: (32 FR 4001, 11 March 

 1967; 35 FR 12122, 29 July 1970). 



States: Endangered: South Carolina, Texas, 

 Alaska. 



CREDIT: PES, WASHINGTON, D.C. 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



The evidence is overwhelming that unrestricted 

 hunting for the market, particularly during north- 

 ward spring migrations through the midwestem \ 

 prairies of the United States, and to a lesser 

 degree in the fall migration in southeastern Labra- 

 dor and (after severe storms) on the coast of Mas- 

 sachusetts, drastically and rapidly reduced this cur- 

 lew's population between 1870 and 1890 (Mackay 

 1892, Forbush 1912, p. 427, Swenk 1915, Bent 

 1929, p. 126, Greenway 1958, Vincent 1966, Fish 

 and Wildlife Service 1973). Other factors that 

 may have contributed to its rapid decline are 

 severe storms during long overocean migrations 

 (Townsend and Allen 1907, Forbush 1912);habi- 

 tat altered by cultivation and grazing on winter- 

 ing grounds and the spring migration route 

 (Cooke 1910, Dement'ev and Gladkov 1951); and 

 a succession of unsuccessful breeding seasons 

 caused by unfavorable weather (Banks 1977). A 

 characteristic of the Eskimo curlew that may have 

 contributed to its rapid decline was its tame nature 

 and extreme gregariousness, making it easy to 

 shoot (Swenk 1916, Bent 1929 ,p. 127,Coues 1861 



