The bird, which is found on moorland across the region is one of five species added to the RSPB’s ‘Red list’ of dwindling populations.

It joins the dotterel, whinchat, grey wagtail and merlin, bringing the total number of Red-listed upland UK birds to 12.

The listing comes following the RSPB’s state of the UK’s birds 2016 report which highlights how more than a quarter of the UK’s regularly-occurring bird species are now on the Red list.

One of the reasons behind their decline are changes to their habitats due to farming and land drainage.

Sarah Sanders, the RSPB’s curlew recovery programme manager, said working with landowners and farmers is key to saving the species.

She said: “It is a combination really, there have been changes in farming practices, curlews like damp, rough vegetation and damp rough grassland with different heights to give them somewhere to hide.

“In fact when they are nesting they are normally difficult to find because they are usually hidden.

“To maintain this rough pasture you have really got to get the balance right with grazing.

“Grazing helps but it is about having that balance to maintain the right sort of structure.”

The curlew’s call has inspired poets and writers over the centuries and Ms Sanders said there is even evidence of their song being referenced in an Anglo Saxon text.

She said: “It is just part of the culture of the countryside and if we lose them, we are losing something that is part of the fabric of rural Britain.”

Ms Sanders added that the North of England is “a key area” in terms of conserving the curlew.

The UK hosts up to a quarter of the global breeding population of curlew but in recent decades, numbers have almost halved due to habitat loss.

With a much smaller population, predators are now having an effect on what was a resilient population and now it is considered ‘near threatened’ globally

Geoff Hilton, head of conservation science at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, said: “The call of the curlew is one of the really magical elements of British nature, celebrated in poetry and song.

“Now we know that we are losing them; fewer and fewer people are getting to experience their song.

“But the curlew has one big thing in its favour; it is loved by many, many people. “I’ve seen the enthusiasm and determination to turn their fortunes around – from farmers, conservationists and the public – and this convinces me that we can do so.”

It was not all bad news in the RSPB report as some species such as golden eagles, cirl buntings, and winter thrushes have seen an increase in numbers.

Others, such as the bittern and nightjar, have also moved from the Red list to the Amber or Green lists.

Most notably the red kite, once one of the UK’s most threatened species, is now on the Green list thanks to the efforts of conservationists and landowners.