Beach Thick-knee
Esacus magnirostris
- Class
- Bird
- Rarity
- Rare
- Observations
- 1,369
- Most observed in
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
Description
The beach stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris) or beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At 55 cm (22 in) and 1 kg (2.2 lb), it is one of the world's largest shorebirds. It is less strictly nocturnal than most stone-curlews, and can sometimes be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing slow, rather stiff wingbeats.. The beach stone-curlew is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In New South Wales, it is listed as critically endangered.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Beach stone-curlew”.