August 31, 2009

Post date: Sep 11, 2009 4:21:03 PM

The long-billed curlew, or candlestick bird, is the largest shorebird in North America. Candlestick Park in San Francisco is named after this native bird. Curlew nest in grasslands of the West, and come to the California coast for winter. The curlew's extra long down-curved bill is especially suited to catching crabs in their mud burrows.

Update December 2010: Our first picture below is going to be used on an interpretative sign at San Pablo Park along San Francisco Bay. The ranger called it a "real gem"!