TEHRAN – Destruction of wetlands, especially in Asia, is the main threat to curlews’ lives, said director general for aquatic wildlife office of the Department of Environment.

He made the remarks on the occasion of dedicating April 21st to World Curlew Day for the first time. 

There are 8 species of curlew in the world, 4 of which have been observed and reported in Iran, IRIB quoted Majid Kharrazian-Moqaddam as saying on Saturday.

Whimbrel, Slender-billed, Eurasian, and Far Eastern curlews are the four identified species which migrate to the country in winters, he highlighted.

Touching on the fact that Far Eastern curlew is classified as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, he said that this species’ population has decreased by 80 percent during last 3 decades.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Curlew is any of numerous medium-sized or large shorebirds belonging to the genus Numenius (family Scolopacidae) and having a bill that is decurved, or sickle-shaped, curving downward at the tip. There are eight species. Curlews are streaked, gray or brown birds with long necks and fairly long legs. They breed inland in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and migrate far south. During migration, they frequent dry uplands, where they feed on insects and seeds; wintering birds occupy marshes and coastal mud flats, where they probe for worms and fiddler crabs.

MAH /MQ/MG