A very peculiar bird: Whimbrel

Since I first heard its name, Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), I felt a special affection for this charadriiform bird from the Scolopacidae family; its name is original, fun, endearing, different… perhaps like me, and that’s why I often gave myself that name and came to identify with it. It’s a small bird (40 centimeters in length and 80 in wingspan; weighing about 430 grams), just as I’m small too and no less important for it.
 
It’s a great traveler (I also love to travel a lot) and shows a special preference for Nordic countries (my favorites too), where it usually spends the summer season (May to August) and breeds, laying four eggs (they beat me there because I only had three kids, not four). Incubation lasts 35 to 40 days, and since it’s not sexist (neither am I), male and female take turns in this task. Their love for freedom and independence is so deep (just like mine) that the chicks leave the nest a few days after hatching and can fly within 40 days.
 
Its presence doesn’t go unnoticed. Whimbrels are the largest waders in European fauna. Their plumage isn’t very striking, but they have a distinctive feature that makes them unmistakable: their long, curved beak, which seems disproportionate for such a small head.
 
They undertake long migrations to spend the winter in West Africa and—occasionally—some stop to rest at the Tablas de Daimiel National Park (exactly where I grew up). It feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, worms, insects, and fruits (our food tastes do differ). The curve of its beak adapts perfectly to the shape of crab burrows: it extracts the crab, washes it if muddy (I’m very clean too), and sometimes breaks its claws and legs before swallowing to avoid choking.
 
It’s known by many varied names:
 
German: Regenbrachvogel
Czech: Koliha malá
Danish: Småspove (Lille Regnspove)
Daimieleño: Vicente Fisac
Slovak: Mali skurh
Spanish: Zarapito trinador
Estonian: Väikekoovitaja ehk
Finnish: Pikkukuovi
French: Courlis corlieu
Dutch: Regenwulp
Hungarian: Kis póling
English: Whimbrel
Icelandic: Spói
Italian: Chiurlo piccolo
Norwegian: Småspove
Polish: Kulik mniejszy
Portuguese: Maçarico-galego
Romanian: Fliaun pitschen
Swedish: Småspov 
 
So now you know: The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is an endearing and very peculiar bird, just like me.
 

An enthralling story of love, friendship and honor in the Olympic Games (2,600 years ago)
“Life debt”: https://a.co/d/hono34C