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Eskimaux Curlew and Little Woodcock
Like the passenger pigeons (though certainly on a smaller scale), the Eskimo curlew was once considered one of the most numerous birds in the Americas, and the most abundant shorebird. In the 19th century, upwards of 2 million individuals were killed per year.
As a migrating bird, the Eskimo curlew bred on the tundra of Western Canada and Alaska, and flew south to the pampas of Argentina every year, and with such a long migration route, they were seen over much of the central and western United States when the seasons changed. One migration route even went over the Caribbean, where they are surmised to have been the birds guided Christopher Columbus to land, after 65 days in the open ocean.
The last time the Eskimo curlew was confirmed in South America is 1939. A photograph of one was confirmed in Galveston, TX, in 1962, and a specimen was found in Barbados in 1963. Since then, all sightings have been unconfirmed and most have been unlikely. The species is currently listed as critically endangered, but presumed extinct.
Arctic Zoology. Vol II, Class II: Birds. Published by Henry Hughs, 1785.
