Eskimo Curlew
Numenius borealis
By: Hue
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Numenius
Species: borealis
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Natural History:
A bird is easy to recognize because it has feathers,
which means it’s a member of the class Aves. Did you know they are
warm-blooded animals? Of course, birds are warm-blooded animals
because they can keep a constant temperature regardless of the
temperature of its surroundings.
Birds use a huge amount of energy for flying so their body temperature
is slightly higher than ours. Even though feathers on birds look really
pretty, they also help birds in many other different ways because their
feather structure is strong, flexible, and lightweight. Feathers help
maintain the bird’s body temperature and repel water while flying up in
the air.
Since birds’ feathers grow in the outer layer of their skins, it can be
compared to the scales on a reptile. There are three parts
in a feather of a bird: the vane, which is the flat part of the feather
that is made up of threadlike structures that are connected together,
the rachis, which supports the vane, and the quill, which is the bottom
part of the rachis that is connected to the skin of a bird.
Birds’ wings are the strongest parts of its body. If you compare the
structure of human arms with bird wings then it would be entirely
different. But the bones in each a bird’s wings and a human’s arm are
very closely alike. Did you know that all birds except the Tuloon have
lightweight bones to contain air spaces? Can you believe it? The bones
of an Eskimo curlew were identified from the Pleistocene Era from
deposits in Kansas. The Pleistocene Era is the period before the ice
age.
The Eskimo curlew’s genus was known from the Middle Miocene Age, which
is 15-20 million years ago. The Middle Miocene is the period of time on
earth where the grasses grew, which brought many, many, mammals into the
world. The Eskimo curlew is also known as the prairie pigeon or the
dough bird. It’s part of the ecosystems of North and South America and
is an omnivore, since it eats both meat and plants. It was
originally found in the Arctic tundra of North America during the warm
season when the breeding season begins. It has also been found in the
grasslands of South America in the winter. At the beginning of 19th
century, there were a million Eskimo curlews, but now they are almost extinct. In the 20th
century, only 70 or so Eskimo curlews were seen in Canada and the
U.S.A.
Habitat:
The Eskimo curlew lives in different habitats. Some habitats are
grasslands, like tall grassland areas, dry areas of land, and by the
water. During
the winter season, the Eskimo curlew lives in open, clear, and dry
areas
near the waters of central Argentina. When the breeding season begins
in
the winter, they live in the Artic tundra. They lay their nests in low
ground
areas of the Arctic tundra. While traveling northward, they find a new
home
to live in, which are tall grassland areas of the Mississippi valley.
Eskimo curlews are known to be an irregularly common fall migrant and
they migrate along the coast of Maine far out at sea during their
flight year. Since there’s a lot of acid rain in northern Maine it
damages
the Eskimo curlew’s home. Because of the acid rain, the population
is decreasing. Humans destroyed the Eskimo curlew’s habitat to build
houses, stores, factories, etc., for people to live in or to live on
with the money they earned. Since Eskimo curlews' habitat is being
disturbed, few Eskimo curlew rest in Maine during migration. Instead
they go straight up toward the Artic tundra.
Present Status:
The Eskimo curlew is an endangered
species listed in Maine. It is also an endangered species
on the Federal list.
Physical Description:
An Eskimo curlew is a medium size shorebird. It is slightly like
its larger relative, whimbrels. It’s a vertebrate, which means
it has a backbone. Since it's a vertebrate, it belongs in the Phylum Chordata.
The Eskimo curlew is about 11.5 to 14 inches in length and weight 270
to 454 grams. It is the smallest in the American curlew family.
Eskimo curlews have a 2 inch black bill that is curved downhill.
This bill helps them discover food that lives underground. Their legs
are gray and their eyes are dark brown. An Eskimo curlew has dark brown
color on its back and light brown on its breast. On the upper part of
its
breast and near the side of the wings, it has dark brown streaks. The
length of a female Eskimo curlew's leg is an average of 1.708 inches
and
1.716 inches if they are a male Eskimo curlew.
Diet and Feeding Habits:
The Eskimo curlew eats grasshoppers, eggs, cutworms, grubs, snails,
seeds, and insects. An Eskimo curlew uses its 2-inch long bill to
search in the ground to get the food that is hidden underneath the
surface. Its bill can feel the vibrations of the insects and worms that
live underground. An Eskimo curlew is an omnivore, which means it eats
both meat and plants. Herbivores are animals that only eat
plants. The opposite of herbivores is carnivores, which means
they only eat meat.
If the Eskimo curlew doesn’t eat the type of food that its diet
is used to, the population of the food the Eskimo curlew eats in the ecosystem
would be unbalanced which means there might be more grubs, snails, or
even insects in the ecosystems, since there’s no Eskimo curlew to eat
them up. The Eskimo curlew eats continuously during migration until
their crops are full. Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores are part of
the food chain, which strengthen the diversity of the ecosystem.
Causes of Animal’s Present Status and Potential Remedies:
What is the cause for an Eskimo curlew to become an endangered species?
A long time ago, around 1870-1890, hunters hunted Eskimo curlews for
either for food or to sell them in the market because they tasted so
good. The Eskimo curlews were easy to capture because they traveled in
large groups so they were easy targets. Since hunters hunted Eskimo
curlew,
the number of Eskimo curlew went down very quickly.
In 1863 on Nantucket Island, there was one story which talks about
7,000 Eskimo curlew shot in a day. Yes, I did mean in a day. That is a
lot to think that much Eskimo curlew would actually be hunted in just
one day. Can you really live your life and not do anything good for the
Eskimo curlews? Well, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1916 couldn’t
stand watching those birds get killed, so they gave those birds
protection.
Even though there were people trying to help the Eskimo curlew,
it did not recover all the things that damaged their habitat and the
population of their family members. The grassland areas in the US and
Argentina were used for cropland in 1916 which were the Eskimo curlew’s
feeding homes during their migration, so the amount of food would also
decrease.
Another threat to the Eskimo curlew was that their lands were taken by
humans. The decreasing of Eskimo curlews was probably caused by the
habitat destruction and pollution in our world but scientists have no
clue if they will survive. Ecologists are scientists who study ecology,
which is the relationship between organisms and their environment. My
hypothesis would be that the Eskimo curlew can survive but only if
humans try their hardest to stop hunting Eskimo curlews and destroying
their homes. One way to help the species is to recreate their
grasslands so they could have their habitat back. Then maybe the
population of Eskimo curlew might increase. If you want to help
Eskimo curlews, I then recommend you to take a look at this website,
http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/wildlife/geninfo/game/curlew.htm.
Personal Essay:
How Does Diversity Strenthen an Ecosystem? Diversity can strengthen an
ecosystem because it makes the world an exciting environment with
unique animals and humans interacting. With the different population
of animals and humans, the world is full of surprises. Sometimes these
different surprises aren’t so wonderful as we expect them to be.
I always admire the beautiful animals in our world while I am growing
up. I always notice there are fewer animals roaming our world each day.
How come there are fewer animals in our world during the present time?
I’m not really sure of the real reason but there is a possible chance
that their habitats are being polluted or disturbed. Because of the
pullution and disturbed habitats, the population of the animals
decreases which also decreases the strength of the ecosystem. So.
having a strong ecosystem is very important to animals and humans
because there are more animals for
scientists and students to study in school. We will be educated and
will
teach what we learned to our youngsters when we grow up. We will teach
them
about how other animals could interact with different species beside
its
own kingdom.
Also, diversity strengthens the ecosystem by the increased animal
population in a community. With the help of different diversity in the
ecosystem, it strengthens the ecosystem and makes it greater. With the
help of consumers, more producers are grown and allow other organisms
to eat them, to stay healthy and alive for a long period of time.
The strength of the ecosystem is very very important for humans and
animals.
The more diversity or differences in animal and plant species, the
greater
the choices animals have, the richer the food chain, and the stronger
the
ecosystem.
My animal, the Eskimo curlew, is an edangered species, which means it
could become extinct. The Eskimo curlew is an endangered species
because they were easy to capture for food by hunters. They were
captured because they tasted so good and they were migrating in large
groups. Since hunters hunted Eskimo curlew, it decreased the population
of Eskimo curlew in Maine and other states. Since the population of
Eskimo curlews is decreasing, the Eskimo curlew's prey increases
because there are not that many Eskimo curlews to eat them. The food
chain of the Eskimo curlew would grow bigger and the food that the
Eskimo curlew eats might be overflowed during a period of time. To help
the Eskimo curlew's life, hunters should stop trying to hunt the bird
down just for food and leave their habitats alone and maybe the
population of Eskimo curlew might increase.
Have you ever heard the saying “The world is not an ash tray”?
Well, in my life I’ve heard that saying so many times that sometimes I
get sick of it because I know that sometimes people don’t do anything
to help the world become a better environment, to help the environment
and
the animals that are in trouble, I think we should not litter or
pollute
the atmosphere. Also, I think we should pick up the trash we see
on the ground, the park, or the streets and throw it in the trash
can if we see any while walking to school, friend's houses, etc.
Bibliography:
1. Eskimo Curlew. December 21/01. http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/wildlife/geninfo/game/curlew.htm.
February 28/03.
2. Nagel, Rob. Endangered Species. Detroit, London.
Thomas L. Romig. 1999 Volume 2.
3. Curlew. Encyclopedia Americana. 1999. Volume 8.
4. Tudor, Lindsay. Lindsay.Tudor@maine.gov. March 31/03.
