The only North American record of the extinct Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris

An historical record of the extinct Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris from Ontario, Canada, is quite exceptional, being the only North American record. Its inclusion in North American, Canadian, or Ontarian avifaunal lists is patchy, and the specimen has not been assessed against current identification criteria. We show that the specimen is extant, in the collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science, and is indeed a Slender-billed Curlew. Here, we compile the history of the specimen and its collector in the wider context of the ornithology of the Niagara Region.