Stone-curlew

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Stone-curlew, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	Yes
Birds Directive Annex 1	Yes
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(II), Bonn(II), NERC (41)

Historically, the Stone-curlew was found more widely across the UK, but numbers reported to the Rare Breeding Birds Panel dropped to a low point in 1977; however, numbers in the 1970s are likely to have been significantly under-reported and the true low point may have been in the mid-1980s when around 100 pairs were breeding (RBBP report 1985). Comprehensive fieldwork by the RSPB began in 1985 and the species has subsequently benefited from intensive conservation efforts with numbers peaking at 473 pairs in 2012. The five-year mean population estimate from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel for the period 2015–2019 was 328 breeding pairs, but complete survey coverage is no longer achieved following the end of EU-LIFE+ project funding in 2016 (Eaton et al. 2021). Despite the population increases, the range has decreased by 42% since the 1968–72 Atlas, with the contraction occurring prior to the 1988–91 Atlas (Balmer et al. 2013) and hence during the initial decline prior to increased conservation focus on this species.

Stone-curlews prefer sparse vegetation and bare ground. In Britain this combination is provided either by short semi-natural grassland or by spring-sown crops. They breed in two main areas, the East Anglian Breckland and Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, with a growing population on the Sandlings of coastal Suffolk. Small numbers have breed in Sussex.

Stone-curlews are summer visitors to southern and eastern heathlands from late March onwards. In some years birds linger into November and there are occasional winter records.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	22 years 4 months 1 days (set in 2012)
Typical Lifespan	6 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.832
Juvenile Survival	0.606 (in first year)

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	E
Field Codes	2-letter: TN | 5-letter code: STOCU | Euring: 4590

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Causes of change

Losses since 1850 have been attributed to land enclosure, afforestation, lack of grazing, the cessation of rabbit warrening and the conversion of pasture to arable farmland (Balmer et al. 2013). The significant increases since the mid-1980s can be attributed to intensive conservation management and associated agri-environment schemes, which may also benefit other species including Skylark, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Linnet and Lapwing (MacDonald et al. 2012) . A substantial decrease in Stone-Curlew abundance from 473 pairs to 319 pairs between 2012 and 2013 was attributed to the effects of a cold, wet spring in 2013 (Holling et al. 2015). Reported numbers have not subsequently reached the 2012 peak, but complete survey coverage has not been achieved since EU-LIFE+ project ended in 2016: consequently the direction of the recent trend less unclear and hence current drivers of change are also uncertain.