Species: Numenius americanus

Egg laying begins in April in Washington, by early May in Saskatchewan. Clutch size is 3-5 (usually 4); eggs are laid over 4-7 days. Incubation lasts 28-30 days, by both sexes (Redmond and Jenni 1986). Nestlings are precocial. Young are tended by both parents, brooded at night for several days after hatching. Females usually depart when young are 2-3 weeks old; males tend young until fledging at 41-45 days. Age of first breeding probably is 2-3 years for females, 3-4 years for males. One brood per year. Does not renest if clutch is lost. Fledging success is greater for early nesters (Redmond and Jenni 1986). Annual productivity is low. See Allen (1980) for details on nesting and brooding behavior. Often nests in loose colonies. Reported breeding density up to one pair per 24 ha; sometimes only one pair per several hundred ha. Breeding density was about 5-7 males per 100 ha in Idaho (Redmond and Jenni 1986), 1 pair per 6-7 sq km in Saskatchewan, up to 15 territories in 10.4 sq km in Washington (Allen 1980), 0-9 nests per ha in Oregon (Pampush and Anthony 1993), 0.64-2.36 males per sq km in northern Utah (Paton and Dalton 1994). In Oregon, nest success was 0.65-0.69 (Pampush and Anthony 1993). In Utah, 2 of 10 monitored nests were successful (Paton and Dalton 1994).