The curlews are one of the most threatened bird species on the planet

The Numeniini — a tribe of large waders including curlews and godwits — is one of the most threatened bird groups on the planet. The once-abundant Eskimo Curlew Numenius borealis of the Americas is now considered Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), having last been spotted with certainty in the 1960s. Like the Eskimo Curlew, the possibility of the extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) cannot be confirmed for sure until we have scoured the entirety of its known breeding grounds in the Siberian wilderness for a remnant population. Attention must now be given to helping to protect the members of the Numeniini tribe that we know are still with us — and of this group, there is none more imperiled than the Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis. The Far Eastern Curlew is the largest and one of the most threatened migratory shorebirds in the world. The Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata has recently been identified as one of the UK’s most rapidly declining breeding bird species.

Source: Birdlife, 19 October 2017
http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/curlew-crisis-deepens-vital-aust…