Esacus magnirostris
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The beach stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris) or beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At 55 cm (22 in) and 1 kg (2.2 lb), it is one of the world's largest shorebirds.
It is less strictly nocturnal than most stone-curlews, and can sometimes be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing slow, rather stiff wingbeats..
The beach stone-curlew is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In New South Wales, it is listed as critically endangered. The beach stone-curlew is a resident of undisturbed open beaches, exposed reefs, mangroves, and tidal sand or mudflats over a large range, including coastal eastern Australia as far south as far eastern Victoria, the northern Australian coast and nearby islands, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is uncommon over most of its range, and rare south of Cairns.
The beach stone-curlew is 54-56 cm (21-22 in) long. At a mean of 1,032 g (2.275 lb) in males... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Reptile Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Beach Thick-knee sighting in Bali Barat National Park on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Beach Thick-knee in Bali Barat National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and August–December, the lowest months. Those are among Bali Barat National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in August.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Beach Thick-knee sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Beach Thick-knee sightings, Bali Barat National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Komodo National Park (Indonesia, about 10%).
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Beach Thick-knee that you can see in Bali Barat National Park (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Common Sandpiper (about 40%), White-headed Stilt (about 30%) and Little Tern (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Beach Thick-knee is recorded against all the birds logged in Bali Barat National Park (50 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
