Eskimo Curlew
(Numenius borealis)

At one time, the Eskimo Curlew may have been one of the most numerous shorebirds in North America with a population in the millions. As many as 2 million birds per year were killed near the end of the 19th century. The last confirmed sightings were in 1962 on Galveston Island, Texas (photographed) and on Barbados in 1963 (specimen). There was an unconfirmed report of 23 birds in Texas in 1981, and more recent additional unconfirmed reports from Texas, Canada (1987), Argentina (1990), and Nova Scotia (2006). No confirmed record of this species has been reported in South America since 1939.

One of the most important food sources was the Rocky Mountain Locust Melanoplus spretus. This species extinction circa 1902 may be a partial cause of the Eskimo Curlew's decline. Habitat destruction at wintering grounds in the Pampas is also implicated as preventing any recovery.
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Eskimo Curlew - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In 1916, nongame bird hunting in the United States was stopped by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but the Eskimo Curlew did not recover. Conversion of native grasslands to cropland, in the South American wintering area and along the migration route through the tall grass prairies of the United States, is thought to be the reason for the birds' failure to recover.
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Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)

Breeding, since it occurs within North America's least accessible regions, has rarely been observed closely. The Eskimo Curlew's nest sites were described by early ornithologists as crude shallow scrapes lined with down and other nesting material, similar to nests constructed by other curlews. Historic descriptions of the species' breeding behavior are also consistent with the behavior of related species. Both parents brood and care for the chicks, which are able to follow the parents and find their own food soon after hatching.In most curlew species, parental care decreases quickly once the young birds fledge.
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National Audubon Society - Watchlist

This is a summary of the curlew's annual cycle in the 1800s through breeding, fall migration, wintering and spring migration. These aspects are expanded upon and documented in the geographical treatment and appendices (Map 3 & Map 4 ). The only references given in this chapter are those not appearing later.
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NPWRC :: Eskimo Curlew

Fall migration

"They flew in that peculiar manner which distinguishes the curlews from all other birds in flight, a sort of wedge shape, the sides of which were constantly swaying back and forth like a cloud of smoke wafted by the lightest zepher [sic]... Long, dangling lines, either perpendicular or horizontal, the lower parts of which whirl, rise, or twist spirally, while the apex of the flock is seemingly at rest" (Turner in Bent 1962).
NPWRC :: Eskimo Curlew