Widjoonong (Noongar LOTE),[1] Djebiny (Kongal-boyal),[1] Boorkooni (Djiraly),[1] or Kwiyal (Kongal-marawar)[1] is called in English the Eastern Curlew, or the Far Eastern Curlew, and its scientific name is Numenius madagascariensis. Widjoonong maambakoort-ngat (birds we often see at the sea shore).
It is not only the largest curlew but probably the world's largest sandpiper, at 60 - 66 cm in length and 110 cm across the wings. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing.[2]
Widjoonong spends its breeding season in northeastern Asia, including Siberia to Kamchatka, and Mongolia. Its breeding habitat is composed of marshy and swampy wetlands and lakeshores. Most individuals winter in coastal Australia.
Status
editAs of 2006, there are an estimated 38,000 individuals in the world. Formerly classified as least concern by IUCN, it was found to have been rarer than previously believed and thus its status has been updated to endangered in the 2017 IUCN red list of threatened species.[3]
In Australia its status under the EPBC Act is Critically Endangered.[4]
Widjoonong Waarnk - Stories about the Eastern Curlew
editNgiyan waarnk - References
edit- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Djerap - Noongar Birds". Batchelor Press. 2014. ISBN 978 1 74131 292 8
- ↑ John Marchant, Peter Hayman, Tony Prater. (1986) "Shorebirds". Pub. Christopher Helm. London, UK. pp 320–321. ISBN 978-0-7136-3509-6. Retrieved 17 May 2018
- ↑ IUCN. Numenius madagascariensis. BirdLife International 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2018
- ↑ Department of the Environment, Numenius madagascariensis — Eastern Curlew. Retrieved 17 May 2018