Short-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus griseus
Plump, medium-sized shorebird with very long bill. Extremely similar to Long-billed Dowitcher, and often flocks with it. Best distinguished by voice: a rapid series of notes, “tu-tu-tu”, lower-pitched and almost always in a series, unlike single piercing “keek!” of Long-billed. At all ages, look for subtle structural differences: Short-billed averages flatter-backed, slightly shorter-billed, and slightly shorter, especially noticeable when in a mixed flock. Breeding birds are intricately patterned with a variable amount of orange on the underparts. Short-billed usually has some white on the belly, and paler upperparts with bolder golden and white markings. Also look for messy and extensive spotting on sides, not sparsely barred like Long-billed Dowitcher. Nonbreeding plumage is brownish-gray overall with a paler belly; extremely similar to Long-billed but averaging slightly paler and more patterned, especially on the breast and sides. Juveniles are easiest to identify: look for bright golden markings on the tertials and scapulars. Short-billed breeds in grassy wetlands and tundra, and can be found in a variety of wetland habitats in migration and winter. A very early fall migrant, with southbound birds appearing in the U.S. by late June. Usually in flocks, feeding actively like a sewing machine. Tends to favor saltwater marshes, beaches, and mudflats. Somewhat less likely in freshwater habitats than Long-billed, but much overlap, especially the hendersoni subspecies that migrates primarily through the center of the continent.
Identification
The body of adults is dark brown on top and reddish underneath. The tail has a black and white barred pattern. The legs are a yellowish color.<p>The three subspecies have slight variations in appearance:<p>None of these combines the reddish belly and barred flanks of the breeding plumage long-billed dowitcher. The winter plumage is largely grey. This bird can range from 23 to 32 cm (9.1 to 12.6 in) in length, 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in) in wingspan and 73–155 g (2.6–5.5 oz) in body mass.<p>The call of this bird is more mellow than that of the long-billed dowitcher, and is useful in identification, particularly of the difficult adult plumages.
Taxonomy
The short-billed dowitcher was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Scolopax and coined the binomial name Scolopax grisea. Gmelin based his description on the "brown snipe" from the coast of New York that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham and by the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The short-billed dowitcher is now placed in the genus Limnodromus that was introduced in 1833 by Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek limnē meaning "marsh" with -dromos meaning "-racer" or "-runner". The specific griseus is Medieval Latin meaning "grey". The English name "dowitcher" is from Iroquois and was first recorded in 1841.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Limnodromus griseus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Limnodromus
Range and habitat
The breeding habitat of the short-billed dowitcher includes bogs, tidal marshes, mudflats or forest clearings south of the tree line in northern North America. L. g. griseus breeds in northern Quebec; L. g. hendersoni breeds in north central Canada; L. g. caurinus breeds in southern Alaska and southern Yukon.<p>The birds migrate to the southern United States and as far south as Brazil. This bird is more likely to be seen near ocean coasts during migration than the long-billed dowitcher. This species occurs in western Europe only as an extremely rare vagrant.
- Breeding range
- NA : n temperate bogs in tundra and muskeg of Nearctic: Gulf of Alaska and inland sc Alaska, sw Yukon and montane nw British Columbia (nw Canada); nc Alberta to w Manitoba (c Canada); sw Hudson and James bays to w Labrador (ec Canada)
- Non-breeding range
- s USA and LA : coastal mudflats and mangroves of temperate to tropical Western Hemisphere: n California to n Peru and Galapagos (e Pacific) and North Carolina to ne Brazil (w Atlantic)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
These birds nest on the ground, usually near water. Their nests are shallow depressions in clumps of grass or moss, which are lined with fine grasses, twigs and leaves. They lay four, sometimes three, olive-buff to brown eggs. Incubation lasts for 21 days and is done by both sexes.<p>The downy juvenile birds leave the nest soon after hatching. Parental roles are not well known, but it is believed the female departs and leaves the male to tend the chicks, which find all their own food.<p>These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, mollusks, crustaceans and marine worms, but also eat some plant material.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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