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Curlew

Birds
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A large shorebird with a long, downcurved bill and mournful call.

Detailed Definition
The curlew’s evocative cry and coastal habitat make it a frequent symbol of longing, solitude, and the passage of time in poetry. Its call often punctuates twilight or desolate landscapes, evoking melancholy or existential reflection. Poets such as W.B. Yeats and Matthew Arnold use the curlew to underscore themes of loss, exile, and the haunting beauty of the natural world, particularly in elegiac or pastoral contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
W.B. Yeats’ “The Curlew” uses the bird’s mournful cry to symbolize lost love and the haunting persistence of memory; In Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach,” the curlew’s call (implied in coastal desolation) underscores the retreat of faith and certainty; Irish poets often invoke the curlew as a national symbol of vanishing wilderness and cultural erosion; The curlew’s long, downcurved bill appears in descriptive poetry to illustrate evolutionary adaptation to tidal mudflats; Ecopoets mourn the curlew’s decline, using its absence as a silence that speaks louder than song; Its cry at twilight makes it a frequent motif in elegies, bridging day and night, presence and absence.
Additional Notes
Curlew: With its haunting, bubbling call and long, downcurved bill, the curlew often appears in poetry as a voice of melancholy or wilderness, especially in coastal or moorland settings. Its declining populations add an elegiac tone to modern references. The Eurasian curlew’s cry is frequently likened to a lament, making it ideal for themes of loss or solitude.
Also Known As
Eurasian Curlew Long-billed Curlew Whimbrel (sometimes confused regionally)
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