Esacus magnirostris
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 88th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Beach Thick-knee in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–September and December–May, the lowest months.
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.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Beach Thick-knee sightings, Ningaloo Marine Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Komodo National Park (Indonesia, about 10%), Bali Barat National Park (Indonesia, under 5%) and Noosa National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Beach Thick-knee that you can see in Ningaloo Marine Park (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Silver Gull (about 80%), Crested Tern (about 50%) and Pied Oystercatcher (about 50%), 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 Ningaloo Marine Park (13 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.
