[3] The bristle-thighed curlew was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

The size and shape are the same as the whimbrel's, and the plumage is similar, spotted brown on their upper body with a light belly and rust-colored or buffy tail.

The bigger buff spots on the upper body, unmarked light belly and barely marked flanks, tail color, and pale buffy-orange rump distinguish it from both whimbrels.

[10] Its winter habitat is tropical Oceania, and includes Micronesia, Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga, Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, French Polynesia and Tongareva (Penrhyn atoll).

[12] Bristle-thighed curlews feed on a wide variety of vegetation such as flowers and berries and on insects, sea life, and other bird's eggs, which they break open with rocks — the only tool use among shorebirds.