Comparison To Eurasian Curlew
The bird was close in appearance to Eurasian Curlew, but differed in a number of features:
- in size, it was closer to a Whimbrel than to a typical Eurasian Curlew
- it also differed slightly in structure, being slimmer, and in particular thinner-necked and shorter-legged than a typical Eurasian Curlew
- its bill was shorter than is typical for Eurasian Curlew, and straight for the first half of its length, rather than evenly curved; the bill was also thin and narrow in both depth and width
- the bird's flanks were clean white, patterned with rows of oval black spots, and lacked any transverse barring or anchor-shaped marks
- it had a very white-looking tail, with narrow greyish bars
- its underwings were white and unmarked
One other point of note is that the bird's upperwing-coverts were worn, and they had a silvery appearance, contrasting with its scapular feathers which were very dark.
Read more about this topic: Druridge Bay Curlew
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