Occasionally I rerun a favorite older post because few current readers have seen it. This one was originally published on April 17, 2012. For this version I’ve rewritten much of the text, cleaned up the formatting and changed the title.
I had been photographing a mated pair of Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island and as usual for me I was using my 500 f/4 lens with attached 1.4 tc. Suddenly a second male unexpectedly flew in to challenge the original male and immediately all hell broke loose. The action was incredibly quick with wings, legs, long bills and tails flailing in every direction so of course I was too close to the birds with my lens and tc combination to prevent clipping body parts in most of my images of the fight.
I remember thinking I should take off the tc but I was afraid that by the time I had accomplished it the action would be over. That was a mistake – the fight lasted for several minutes and I had plenty of time to switch.
There were no preliminaries, the battle began immediately after the second male touched down.
They used their incredibly long bills for biting, stabbing and pulling feathers.
Here they briefly broke apart and appeared to be sizing each other up.
But in an instant they were going at it again.
In my experience many birds, particularly wading and shorebirds with long bills, seem to instinctively go for the eye of their opponent in a fight. This time the eye was missed but it was a close call.
.
Wings were also used as weapons and some of their wing strikes were vicious, sometimes knocking the other bird off its feet. This time the wing went harmlessly over the back of the bird on the right.
I love the fighting posture of the bird on the left. It reminds me the opening defensive position of human fencing competitors.
En Garde!
For a second or two they stood like this in threatening poses…
Then they moved a few feet to a more grassy fighting arena but eventually the bird on the left threw in the towel and flew off.
However the “winning” bird paid a price. Its eye had apparently been injured during the battle and as soon as the vanquished bird left the area this curlew immediately perched on a buffalo chip for several minutes, keeping its right eye closed most of the time it was there. Eventually it wandered off and by then the eye seemed to have partially recovered.
I would have preferred to have had my teleconverter off so I wouldn’t have clipped or cut off so many wings and body parts. The upside to that “mistake” was a more intimate look at the combatants during the fracas.
Tradeoffs.
Ron
Notes:
- Cornell’s Birds of North America Online says this about curlew fights – “Violent, physical confrontations rare” so I was lucky to have been able to document this agonistic behavior.
- Image techs of all photos are as follows: 1/1600 – 1/3200, f/6.3 – f/7.1, ISO 500.
- If I occasionally don’t publish a post to Feathered Photography every day in the next week or two don’t be alarmed. As I continue to recover from surgery and while we’re in this dreary weather pattern with no decent light it seems like a good time to take a short break or two. Besides, as much as I love them I’m growing weary of posting older images.
Yikes, that is intense!
Wonderful series Ron, thanks for reposting.
Boys will be boys, I guess. 😉 Wonderful photos, Ron, thanks for digging up from your archives! The only bird I’ve ever seen with similar-length (but shorter) bill, legs & wings is a White-faced Ibis at the Kealia NWR on Maui earlier this month, and it’s just an occasional visitor, so I was lucky! (Didn’t get a picture, of course, so I can’t prove it, but I’m sticking with my ID….)
We see lots of WF Ibis around here, Chris. They are similar to curlews in some ways. Thank you.
WOW! Amazing shots. I know you hate clipping any body parts, but I think the tradeoff to see the expressions and detail is worth losing a few wing tips. Wow! Hope the eye injury was a minor one.
Take as much time as you need. 🙂
Yeah, I’m not bothered much by this clipping either, Marty. Thank you.
Ron: Thank you for posting the beautiful and incredible photos of the curlew fight. Fascinating photos and text. I was excited when I got a good photo of a curlew just looking at me (fortunately sideways so the beak showed), but I was u7nable to get anything as wonderful as your shots. I check your site every day, and it sure is worth the time!
That incredibly long bill makes them a difficult subject to photograph well. Thanks, Richard.
Very dramatic confrontation! Glad you were zoomed in to catch such wonderful detail.
Thanks, Ken.
Ron, I am so glad you shared this post from years ago. I had never seen such behavior. Wow! Thanks,
Thank you, K.
Once again you get some wonderful, interesting shots. Glad you were there to get them. Clipped wings don’t bother me, but I know to have a perfect picture you would like a full few of the body parts. I mean the wings. Ha Ha
The clipped body parts were a tradeoff, Trudy. Gotta admit that I like the intimate look at the fighting the closer view provides.
Thanks for reposting these photos, Ron. They’re beautiful! Sword fighters with wings… graceful yet vicious.
Best wishes for your recovery. 🙂
Thank you, Myriam.
Once again, spectacular series, Ron! Maybe “violent, physical confrontations are rare” because there aren’t enough dedicated, passionate, skilled Ron Dudleys around to capture that behavior. Thanks again for sharing another amazing encounter from the great outdoors.
Whatever the reason it doesn’t sound like they’ve been observed fighting like this very often, Diane.
A great battle scene! I actually like the close-in feeling, even if a wing tip is missing. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Thanks!
Thank you, Sallie.
Exciting action photography. Have never seen a Curlew, but looking in the guidebooks it surprised me that they are so big: 23″ long and 35″ wing span. Must have got your adrenaline pumping to see these big birds go at it.
It did, Lyle. And for big birds these guys are FAST when they have to be.
Amazing behavioral series Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
What a fantastic set of photos! I’ve never seen such a fight between l-b’d curlews. Nor could I have imagined it would be like this. Wow! You captured the action amazingly well. Missing body parts not missed, actually.
Thanks, Nancy. Those clipped and cut off body parts don’t bother me as much as they used to.
WOW, phenomenal shots, just beautiful!
Don’t know how long I have with being able to access and note to your blog, but am thankful I got to see these images!
Welcome back, Dick. You’ve been missed and not just by me. Others have noticed your absence too. I hope you have the problem figured out.
GREAT to see you back Dick – hope the access holds!
“En Garde”, indeed ! What a fabulous capture this series is ! It made me wonder if watching battling curlews might have been the inspiration for the sport of fencing–ridiculously long rapiers
and all……..in all that action, were you able to keep track of which bird prevailed ( original male or the challenger who dropped in ) ?
Ha, I just knew someone would aske me that question, Kris!
No, I couldn’t definitively tell which male won. But odds are it was the original mate of the female – in my experience it’s usually (though not always) the interloper that loses.
Wow, a great series of shots and of seldom seen behavior. Don’t mind the occasional body part crop because of the great detail that you captured.
Thank you, Justine.
I LOVE this series, Ron – clipped wings & all!! To see this unbelievable battle between the 2 males is a once in a lifetime experience. It sounds like Cornell’s BoNA let you know you had actually documented one which must have been an “Over the Moon” experience for you!!! Your comment about posting old captures made me think of a question I’ve wanted to ask. I remember you saying that, over time, you have developed an automatic routine when you photograph wildlife. Would you share your routine with we armatures who are striving to get better?
Thanks, Jo Ann. Hopefully this older post will answer at least some of your questions.
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2017/04/04/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-feathered-photography/
Great series, Ron! While I don’t always have time to comment, I always enjoy your posts. Especially those that include interesting bird behavior. I wish you a speedy recovery from your surgery.
Thanks, David. This recovery is taking longer than I expected (hoped…).
Wow! I missed this one in 2012. I’m glad you posted it again. Awesome behavioral sequence.
Thanks very much, Dave.
Amazing and very interesting series Ron. Can’t say that I have ever seen a Curlew let alone a fighting pair. The victor looked very satisfied in spite of the possible eye injury. It’s a wonder they didn’t lose an eye fighting with that long sharp bill. I think your trade-off worked fine.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. I see shorebirds with injured eyes fairly often. I suspect many of those injuries are caused by fights similar to this one.
WOW! Jaw dropping WOW! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’ve never seen two together let alone fighting! We really don’t see the long-billed curlews anymore – probably because they nest in wheat fields and…….. 🙁 “Word had it” they were extinct but we still see them and smaller cousins from time to time. The close up of the action more than makes up for clipped body parts in my opinion……. 🙂
“smaller cousins”
I’m curious, Judy – does that refer to another similar species? I’m trying to imagine what it could be.
I don’t remember ever seeing curlews on the MT farm about 100 miles north of you. I wonder why…
Think it’s an Alaska Curlew? They are smaller and not quite as much bill………
I did a little quick research and I don’t see any other curlew species found in your area, even during migration. I’m wondering if what you’re seeing is juvenile Long-billed Curlews. It takes a long time for their bills to reach adult size. Just speculation on my part…
Could be – last ones we saw were in a flock of about a dozen all the same size and not as large in body as the-long billed……… Haven’t seen them in a few years either…. As you know, my ID skills leave something to be desired! 😉
Some kind of Whimbrel perhaps tho they’d be out of range also……..??
Not a bird I have seen before and probably won’t as they don’t hit this area in migration and an added plus these are new photos for me. That bill looks so fragile at the tip that one would think a quick hard jab would cause the tip to snap especially the overhanging tip. The third photo really shows off the beauty of the feathers as does the second to the last with the tail feathers fanned out. Beautiful colors. Again it is surprising that there is such a great wing expanse…looking at the bird in the last photo I would not expect that. Lucky you…right place-right time. Lucky for us!
I really was lucky, Kathy. I’ve been photographing curlews on the island and elsewhere for over eleven years now and this was the only extended fight I’ve ever witnessed. To have a good light angle and be close enough (almost too close) to the action was a bonus.