Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus)
Long-billed Curlew
Scolopax madagascariensis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, 1, 1766, p. 242. (Type locality, Madagascar, error = Manila, Philippine Islands, fide Stresemann.)
Numenius cyanopus Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 35 (Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1645 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Guam).
Numenius madagascariensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 40 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 51 (Guam, Ngesebus).
Geographic range.—Breeds in eastern Siberia. Winters from Malaysia east to Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Peleliu, Ngesebus.
Remarks.—The Long-billed Curlew is a regular visitor to western Micronesia, especially to the Palau Islands. It is apparently a less common migrant in the Marianas, although it has been recorded from Guam. At Guam, the NAMRU2 party observed a single bird on June 6 and two on October 3 at tidal beaches. At Peleliu these large curlews were seen on several occasions between September 9 and 16, 1945. They were found usually as singles feeding on tidal flats in company with other shorebirds.