English: Whimbrel   

Russian: Средний кроншнеп

Mongolian: Бэсрэг тутгалжин

German: Regenbrachvogel

French: Courlis corlieu

Japanese:  チュウシャクシギ (Chushaku-shigi)

Body length: 37-45 cm.
Wing span: 78-88 cm.

Breeds on taiga bogs, on mountainsides above tree-limit (e.g. cranberry scrub), tundra. On passage (mostly late Apr-May and Jul-Aug) seen singly or in small parties; frequents mainly pasture and coasts; winters on African coasts, rarely in Europe.

Identification: Like Curlew but slightly smaller, and has proportionately somewhat shorter bill (beware juv, Curlew, especially ♂, also with rather short bill), dark crown-sides and rather dark eye-stripe giving strong supercilium and (when viewed head-on) neat light medium crown-stripe (beware faint crown-stripe often shown by Curlew, too). Wing-beats faster, and underwing looks on average slightly darker than Curlew’s (wing-coverts are more patterned). Variation: American birds (ssp. hudsonicus; possibly a separate species), rarely recorded in W Europe, lack white rump.