Last week I gave you this somewhat challenging bird to have a go at identifying:

The challenging part was not simply due to this being one of the wading birds (a group within the Order Charadriiformes), which can be quite hard to identify for the uninitiated, but it’s also a species that is quite unfamiliar. This is because one hasn’t been seen since 2006 (and possibly much longer ago than that).

A similar looking relative of this bird is the Whimbrel, which is a species that several people suggested. However, as Adam Yates spotted, the Whimbrel has a strong dark bar in front of the eye running from the base of the bill, whereas this specimen has a weak stripe behind the eye, that doesn’t connect up to the bill.

This bird is a Northern, or Eskimo, Curlew Numenius borealis (Forster, 1772), as correctly spotted by Sallie Reynolds. The species is considered likely to be extinct, with the last confirmed sighting in 1963.

The species used to be numerous across their range, migrating from their breeding grounds in the Arctic, all the way down the length of America to Argentina for the summer. It seems likely that this particular specimen was blown off course, since it ended up in Ireland.

Well done to Sallie, Adam and everyone who figured out the mystery!