This species exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism, as in many sandpipers, the female being larger and having a much longer bill than the male's.

The species is a determinant layer, a characteristic of shorebirds, laying four eggs, which vary in hue from white to olive.

Though both parents look after the young, females usually abandon the brood to the male 1–3 weeks after hatching and depart for winter grounds.

The species was formerly classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, but new research has confirmed that the long-billed curlew is again common and widespread.

[8] The long-billed curlew was also formerly a plentiful wintering bird on the East Coast of the United States, and John James Audubon's painting of the species was in fact of individuals he sighted near Charleston, South Carolina.

In December 2015, one such "ghost bird" was successfully captured off the coast of Georgia and fitted with a satellite tag with plans to analyze its migration routes, with it taking flight in April 2016.