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Curlew ( Numenius arquatus )

Curlew ( Numenius arquatus ).jpg Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )Avocet( Recurvirostra avocetta )ThumbnailsRuffs ( Machetes pugnax )

Numenius are slender-built Birds with very long, weakly curved downward, high at the root, gradually thinning beak forward; with the exception of the horn-like spire, it is covered with a soft skin; the upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw and slightly curved over it. The legs are slender and high, without feathering well above the hock; all three prongs are joined together by clear webbing. In the large, pointed wings the first flight is the longest; the medium-long tail composed of twelve feathers is rounded at the tip. The hard, close-fitting plumage is reminiscent of that of the Lark by its color, and is similar in males and females to each other and in the different seasons.

[Translated from the Dutch by online translator ]