The WHIMBREL's name in the Irish Language is ‘Crotach eanaigh’. The Latin name is ‘NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS’. It is a GREEN LISTED bird in Ireland.

It is a wader. Visually it's a close relative of the curlew. Both come from the genus 'Numenius' which comes from the words 'new' and 'moon'. Probably a reference to both bills and the crescent shape curve they have. Whimbrels are 'passage migrants'. So they don't hang around long. The big difference is the length of the bill, the Whimbrel's is much shorter. Whimbrel's also have shorter legs and a light stripe above the eye. Good luck with identifying that. Garrett has been at it for years and still admits he finds it difficult to differentiate birds that have similar plummage. They stop off in April and May on the way down from the Arctic to Spain and Africa.

A single whistle from a whimbrel means good weather, a quivery whistle means bad weather. Also In folklore the Whimbrel gets a bad rap as it is considered to be a bird of bad omen.

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