The Great Thick-knee - Esacus recurvirostris -  is a large wader with a massive 7 cm upturned bill. It has unstreaked grey-brown upperparts and breast, with rest of the underparts whitish. The face has a striking black and white pattern, and the bill is black with a yellow base. The eyes are bright yellow and the legs a duller greenish-yellow.

It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia.

After 30 years of searching, researchers in Abu Dhabi have finally found a Great Thick-knee. It was discovered during a regular recent bird-counting exercise on Bul Syayeef, just west of the Musaffah channel in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE now has a total bird list of 448.