Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
SCOLOPACIDAE Members:
General Comments
In 2026, the AOS split the Whimbrel into a North American species -- Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus), and a Eurasian species -- Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). This Old World species can be separated from the North American one by having a large white patch on the back, similar to that on the two dowitcher species. (The Hudsonian Whimbrel has a brown back and rump and is a browner bird overall, especially on the underwings.) Despite this being a European species, NC fortunately has seven reports, all from the coast.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
The species' status on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina: either Definitive, Provisional, or Extinct, as administered by the NC Bird Records Committee. The Provisional List contains species for which there are less than three accepted sight (i.e., non-documented) records. Species of unaccepted origin are not included on the List of Bird Species of North Carolina.
Official
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Official
State Rank
SZ
Global Rank
G5
Coastal Plain

There are seven records of the European species, five from the central coast (Carteret only): 10 Apr 1984; 10 May 1992; 27 May 2002; 17 Oct 1983; and 12 Nov 2003. Another was photographed near Avon on the Outer Banks, 6-12 Apr 2011* (Chat 75:129). This last record was accepted by the NC BRC (Chat 79:13). A seventh was of 2 birds seen from Cape Hatteras Point, 20 Apr 2024; this report has yet to be reviewed by the NC BRC.

Piedmont
No records.
Mountains
No records.
Finding Tips
1/2 *
Distribution