Wildlife in Guatemala: A Eurasian whimbrel is seen foraging in a beach

A Eurasian whimbrel is seen foraging in the Las Lisas beach, in Santa Rosa, Guatemala. The Eurasian or common whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. The common whimbrel was traditionally considered a sub-cosmopolitan bird, breeding in Russia and Canada, then migrating to coasts all around the world to spend the winter. The whimbrel is a migratory bird wintering on coasts in Africa, and South Asia into Australasia. It is also a coastal bird during migration. It is fairly gregarious outside the breeding season. It is found in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and it breeds in Scotland, particularly around Shetland, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides as well as the mainland at Sutherland and Caithness. It has also been seen and documented in coasts of America. The nest is a bare scrape on tundra or Arctic moorland. Three to five eggs are laid. Adults are very defensive of nesting area and will even attack humans who come too close. This species feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates and by picking small crabs and similar prey off the surface. Before migration, berries become an important part of their diet. It has also been observed taking insects, specifically blue tiger butterflies.

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