{"id":4785,"date":"2012-04-14T05:51:13","date_gmt":"2012-04-14T11:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4785"},"modified":"2025-11-16T18:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T00:43:56","slug":"long-billed-curlews-a-territorial-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/14\/long-billed-curlews-a-territorial-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-billed Curlews – A Territorial Encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little less than two weeks ago I did a post\u00a0titled Long-billed Curlew Mating Display<\/a><\/span> and I was thrilled to see their interactions. Yesterday on Antelope Island State Park I witnessed and photographed a territorial encounter between two Long-billed Curlew males I found that occurred while a female was nearby.<\/p>\n

I won’t be posting my techs because there are so many images, I used a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 200-400mm VR lens with the 1.4x TC attached. The quality of many of theses images aren’t my best but I really like the behavior that they show.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew territorial display<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the engine was even turned off these two birds were going at it hot and heavy. Even the dirt was flying!<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlews fighting on territory<\/span><\/p>\n

My shutter speed for this frame was 1\/1600 and even that wasn’t fast enough to freeze the action.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew Appeasement behavior<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows “Wing-raising” by the aggressor and I believe the bird in the foreground is displaying “Appeasement”. I’m not sure the bird in the front could have flattened itself much further.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlews getting physical<\/span><\/p>\n

Birds of North America<\/a><\/span> states that violent, physical interactions are rare but this was beginning to look pretty violent to me as the one male stabbed its bill\u00a0toward the other.<\/p>\n

\"AggressiveAggressive behavior in Long-billed Curlews<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not sure which bird is the aggressor here.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew Wing-raising behavior<\/span><\/p>\n

Or here.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew territorial skirmish<\/span><\/p>\n

This frame makes me think of fencing, En garde!<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew Territorial Encounter<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point I thought the male on the left was going to take off, that the curlew in the back would be the winner of the encounter.<\/p>\n

\"BriefBrief pause in the Long-billed Curlew fight<\/span><\/p>\n

It certainly looked like the bird was going to leave.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlews exhibiting territorial aggression<\/span><\/p>\n

And then the action started again.<\/p>\n

\"BattlingBattling Long-billed Curlews<\/span><\/p>\n

From still images it is difficult to get a feel of just how fast everything was happening. It was a challenge just keeping the two curlews in the viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlews flashing their underwings<\/span><\/p>\n

The cinnamon colored underwings of these two males were flashing often. The bird’s bills were moving almost too quickly to follow with my eyes.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew Kick Boxing<\/span><\/p>\n

Kick Boxing, Long-billed Curlew style. The female was still somewhere outside the frame watching all of the action going on, I just did not have time to photograph her.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlews fighting with their bills<\/span><\/p>\n

In this image the bill tip of the bird on the left\u00a0can be seen just above the wing of the bird on the right. It had to have gone under the wing and over the rump of the opponent.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo male Long-billed Curlews fighting for mating rights<\/span><\/p>\n

Things seemed to be heating up.<\/p>\n

\"LoserLoser of the Long-billed Curlew Territorial Fight<\/span><\/p>\n

But one of the males lifted off from the ground and the female followed it to a grassy slope behind me leaving this curlew on the fighting ground. He stayed still for quite sometime and it seemed that his right eye had been irritated by the scuffle because it kept closed most of the time.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew lifting off from its breeding grounds<\/span><\/p>\n

Before long the bird lifted off, perhaps to find a different mate.<\/p>\n

When I left home I didn’t expect to photograph Long-billed Curlews – A Territorial Encounter<\/p>\n

The interaction between the two male curlews was fascinating and I felt privileged to see and photograph it through my lens. I had a front row seat to an unexpected show that nature provided. I’m glad I spotted these curlews!<\/p>\n

Life is good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Long-billed Curlew photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday on Antelope Island State Park I witnessed and photographed a territorial encounter between two Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) males that occurred while a female was nearby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,1022,199,26],"tags":[4004,1361,16942,1421,1418,4808,4809,4337,4132,4062,1149,4133,274,1419,5418,2520,1417,1420],"class_list":["post-4785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-davis-county-utah","category-long-billed-curlews","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-agonistic-behavior","tag-appeasement-behavior","tag-communicative-interactions","tag-crouch-run","tag-curlew","tag-curlews","tag-fighting","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-male","tag-males","tag-numenius-americanus","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-supplanting","tag-territorial-behavior","tag-territorial-display","tag-territorial-encounter","tag-wing-raising"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1fb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101253,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/31\/spring-long-billed-curlew-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":0},"title":"Spring Long-billed Curlew Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I spotted and pointed out this Long-billed Curlew foraging and calling in the grasses of the north end of Antelope Island State Park.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert male Long-billed Curlew in soft morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-6441.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-6441.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-6441.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-6441.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45849,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/29\/long-billed-curlews-the-candlestick-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":1},"title":"Long-billed Curlews – The Candlestick Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw quite a few Long-billed Curlews yesterday wandering in the spring grasses and this time I was able to get nice images of them. Nicknames for Long-billed Curlews include \"sicklebird\" and \"candlestick bird.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew in the midst of preening, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/long-billed-curlew-preening-mia-mcpherosn-0722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/long-billed-curlew-preening-mia-mcpherosn-0722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/long-billed-curlew-preening-mia-mcpherosn-0722.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/long-billed-curlew-preening-mia-mcpherosn-0722.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36616,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/03\/the-long-billed-curlew-scores\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":2},"title":"The Long-billed Curlew Scores","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This pose made me think \"The Long-billed Curlew Scores\" but he was really just exhibiting a territorial response to another curlew that was nearby","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Long-billed Curlew scores, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-display-mia-mcpherson-9099.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-display-mia-mcpherson-9099.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-display-mia-mcpherson-9099.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-display-mia-mcpherson-9099.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":81412,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/14\/long-billed-curlews-spring-birds-i-look-forward-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":3},"title":"Long-Billed Curlews – Spring Birds I look Forward To","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Spring birds I look forward to seeing and hearing include Long-billed Curlews which should be arriving in northern Utah\u00a0 any day now.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring adult male Long-billed Curlew on breeding grounds, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0246.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-spring-mia-mcpherson-0246.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4728,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/03\/long-billed-curlew-mating-display\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":4},"title":"Long-billed Curlew Mating Display","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a wonderful photographic opportunity yesterday seeing a Long-billed Curlew mating display on Antelope Island State Park.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Curlew ruffling the tail-coverts of the female, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-1000.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-1000.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14505,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/05\/the-long-billed-curlews-are-winging-their-way-to-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":5},"title":"Long-billed Curlews Are Winging Their Way To Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Long-billed Curlews have begun to leave or have left their wintering grounds and should be winging their way to Utah and arriving here any day now.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew feeding in a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6047.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6047.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6047.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6047.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}