![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/long-billed-culew-8487-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"long-billed-culew-8487-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nAn intimate curlew behavior I’ve only seen once and I was lucky enough to document it with photos.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n In April of 2016 I watched for almost six minutes as the male Long-billed Curlew on the left performed fairly elaborate precopulatory courtship displays in an attempt to get his mate ‘in the mood’. What we’re seeing here is called “bill-stroking” as the male strokes both sides of the female’s body with his long, recurved bill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Cornell’s Birds of the World says bill-stroking can last for over a minute and this male went at it for at least that long. He concentrated on stroking her long neck and she seemed to enjoy all the attention. They often had their backs to me but for a few seconds they cooperated by giving me a broadside view in good light.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n For most of that time she stood in one spot as he stroked her which gave him both the time and the opportunity to work over the right side of her neck and eventually…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n the left side of it too.<\/p>\n She was seeming to bask in all the attention but when it came time to mount her she apparently had a change of heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n When he attempted to hop on her back she began to walk forward which made her back an unstable platform so he wasn’t able to complete the act. Not this time anyway.<\/p>\n Apparently it isn’t unusual for the female to put the kibosh on the male’s hopes and plans at this point in his courtship efforts. Cornell says that at the conclusion of bill-stroking the male will mount the female for copulation “if the female does not walk away”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This last photo is a favorite of mine (it’s the only one in this series I’ve posted before). It’s unusual, even rare, for me to get a photo documenting an interesting behavior that’s also beautiful and I think this one is.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note: In Long-billed Curlews the sexes are similar but females average larger than males and they also have longer bills. In this series both of those distinguishing traits are apparent.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An intimate curlew behavior I’ve only seen once and I was lucky enough to document it with photos.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/long-billed-curlew-8490-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"long-billed-curlew-8490-ron-dudley\\"")
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