Rare Migrant: Little Curlew Joins Shennongjia’s Avian Records

On July 30, 2025, He Dejing of Shennongjia National Park’s Yunpan Management & Conservation Center observed a slender-billed bird on the center’s grassy slope at around 1 p.m. After photographing the sighting and sharing photos with colleagues, park researchers confirmed it the following day as a Little Curlew - the species’ first official record in Shennongjia.

The Little Curlew spotted in the Yunpan Management & Conservation Center’s grounds（Photo By He Dejing）

A close-up of the Little Curlew（Photo by Ma Guofei)

The discovery habitat of the Little Curlew (Photo by Ma Guofei)

The Little Curlew (Numenius minutus), belonging to the order Charadriiformes and family Scolopacidae, is the smallest species among curlews. As a National Class II Protected Wildlife species in China, adult Little Curlews measure approximately 30 cm in length, smaller than other three native curlew congeners.  

The Little Curlew is a remarkable long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern Siberia and Mongolia before making its epic journey to wintering grounds in Indonesia and Australia. In China, this globetrotting shorebird makes brief stopovers during its annual migrations, appearing most reliably in April-May and September-October, with frequent records from eastern Inner Mongolia, northeast China, and coastal regions including Taiwan. 

Sightings of the Little Curlew have been exceptionally rare in Hubei Province, with the last confirmed record dating back to May 2020 in Jiangxia District, Wuhan. This makes the Shennongjia observation particularly significant. Based on the habitat and timing of this sighting, researchers suggest the individual was likely making a migratory stopover in Shennongjia, resting briefly before continuing its journey.（By Ma Guofei, He Dejing, and Jiao Rui） 

Screenshot from China Birdwatching Records Center