Nijmegen, October 2025
De Museumwinkel.com has added an extraordinary specimen to its collection: a mounted slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris).
The last confirmed sighting of this mysterious bird species was in February 1995 in Morocco. Since then, there has been no sign of life. Once found in the Netherlands, the species disappeared after the draining of the Zuiderzee.
On 18 November 2024, an article appeared in the scientific journal IBIS, in which British and Dutch scientists concluded with 99.6% certainty that the species is extinct and should be placed on the IUCN Red List. This was officially done on 10 October 2025.
By acquiring this rare specimen, De Museumwinkel.com underlines its mission to make natural history heritage tangible and accessible. “The slender-billed curlew is not just a mounted bird,” says Erwin van Zoelen of De Museumwinkel.com. “It is a symbol of what has been lost, and a call for awareness. By giving it a place in our collection, we want visitors to reflect on the fragility of biodiversity.”
The slender-billed curlew was once known as the ‘holy grail’ among birdwatchers. Its disappearance is one of the most tragic examples of how human influence, overpopulation, and habitat loss can cause a species to vanish forever.
Although the bird was granted protected status, its habitat was never truly safeguarded. Urban development and population growth have put increasing pressure on natural ecosystems, threatening other species with extinction in the future. Without habitat protection, species protection ultimately proves meaningless.
De Museumwinkel.com sees it as its responsibility to tell this story, offering visitors the chance to come face to face with a creature that now exists only in museums. This is the first bird species in Europe in modern times to be truly considered extinct—a deeply sad milestone.
The specimen can now be viewed in the permanent exhibition at Van Welderenstraat 114 in Nijmegen. Admission is free.
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