Short-billed Dowitcher

Juvenile, subspecies L. g. caurinus
Photo © by bievreJJ
Pillar Point, California, USA, 25 August 2018

Limnodromus griseus

Identification

Length 25–29 cm (10-11 inches); wingspan 45–51 cm (17¾-20 inches)
Breeding plumage

• Long bill
• Dark cap and pale supercilium
• Dark brown upperparts, heavily mottled
• Reddish underparts, whitish belly, barred flanks and spotted sides.
• Tail: barred black and white; white wedge up back.
• Yellow-green legs

Winter plumage adults
Photo © by Paul Wiesike
Jacksonville, Florida, USA, 14 November 2004

Nonbreeding plumage

• Solid gray above with white wedge up back.
• Paler gray underparts.

Juvenile

• Boldly patterned and mottled upperparts
• Tertials with extensive internal spots and loops
• Buffy underparts.

Similar species

Almost identical to Long-billed Dowitcher. Bill lengths overlap with females having longer bills than males. Distinguished in breeding plumage by whitish belly and spotted rather than barred sides of breast. Juveniles distinguished by heavily patterned upperparts, particularly tertials with internal spots and loops lacking in Long-billed Dowitcher. In winter plumage, not safely distinguished except by voice. Typical call a mellow whistled "tu-tu-tu." Long-billed is more vocal often keeping contact while feeding. Flight call a higher pitched squeaky "keeek" recalling Sanderling.

Breeding plumage adults in flight
Photo © by Richard Stern
Brier Island, Nova Scotia, 13 July 2006

Distribution

Breeds in Alaska and Canada; winters from southern U.S. to central South America.

Taxonomy

Formerly considered conspecific with Long-billed Dowitcher

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies¹:

• L. g. caurinus - "Pacific":

• Southern Alaska and southern Yukon; winters coastal western US to southern Peru

• L. g. hendersoni - "Prairie":

• Plains of central Canada; winters south-eastern US to Panama

• L. g. griseus - "Atlantic":

• Quebec and Labrador; winters coastal eastern US to Brazil

Habitat

Bogs, tidal marshes, mudflats or forest clearings.

Behaviour

Breeding

Ground-nesters, usually close to water. The nest is a shallow depression in grass or moss, lined with fine grass, twigs and leaves. The clutch consists of 3-4, olive-buff to brown eggs which are incubated by both adults for 21 days.

Diet

The diet includes insects, molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms, and also eat some plant material.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Chandler, R. (2009). Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia: A photographic guide. Princeton Univ. Press.
3. Jehl Jr., J. R., J. Klima, and R. E. Harris (2001). Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.564
4. Van Gils, J., Wiersma, P. & Kirwan, G.M. (2018). Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53885 on 19 October 2018).
5. Wikipedia contributors. (2018, June 19). Short-billed dowitcher. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:59, October 19, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short-billed_dowitcher&oldid=846616555

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Short-billed Dowitcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Short-billed_Dowitcher

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