Beach Thick-knee

1. Massive black bill with yellow base

2. Bold black-and-white facial pattern and bright yellow eyes

3. Broad white shoulder stripe on grey-brown upperparts

Beach Stone-curlews are specialised crab hunters, using their powerful bills to capture and dismantle prey with quick, precise movements. Although they can be seen foraging during the day, they are most active at dawn, dusk, and at night, aided by excellent night vision. These birds are usually solitary or in pairs and are highly territorial, especially during the breeding season from September to November in the south and as early as April in the north. They lay a single egg in a shallow scrape above the high tide line, and both parents care for the chick, which may remain with them for up to a year or more-a notably long period for shorebirds. The chick’s sandy down and streaked pattern provide effective camouflage on open beaches.

Beach Stone-curlews are strictly coastal birds, rarely venturing far from the shore. They inhabit sandy beaches, tidal sand and mudflats, estuaries, mangroves, and rocky platforms along northern and eastern Australia, from Western Australia’s coast across the north and down to northeastern New South Wales. The species is now mostly found on undisturbed beaches and offshore islands, as human activity has driven them away from many mainland sites. Dawn, dusk, and nighttime are the best times to observe them, as they are most active when beaches are quiet. Their mournful, wailing calls carry across coastal landscapes, especially at night.