shortbilled dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION

• Length: 9.5 inches

• Medium-sized shorebird

• Long, straight bill

• Dull, yellowish legs

• White rump extends in wedge onto back

• Tail barred black and white

• Sexes similar

• Several different races

Adult alternate:

• Reddish underparts

• Dark crown and eyeline with reddish supercilium

• Black bases to back feathers with reddish edges

• "hendersoni" race has reddish belly and black spots on sides of breast           and flanks

• "griseus" race has white belly and densely spotted foreneck and barred     flanks

• "caurinus" race has small white belly and densely spotted foreneck

Adult basic:

• Pale gray head with white supercilium

• Pale gray breast with faint spotting

• Gray upperparts

• White belly and undertail coverts

Juvenile:

• Back feathers dark with broad orange edges

• Tertials dark with orange stripes

• Head and breast with orange wash and scattered spots

Similar species:

The most distinctive feature of dowitchers is their long bill. Godwits also
have extremely long bills but their bills are bicolored and they are larger.
In flight, dowitchers can be picked out of mixed shorebird flocks by the
white "v" extending up the back. The long-billed dowitcher is very similar
to the short-billed dowitcher. In alternate plumage, the long-billed
dowitcher has barred flanks and a reddish belly; some races of the short-
billed dowitcher have barred flanks and some have reddish bellies but not
on the same bird. Juvenile short-billed dowithchers have a more orange
plumage than juvenile long-billed dowithcers. The best field mark for
separating the juvenile plumages is the appearance of the tertials. In the
short-billed they have internal orange stripes while in the long-billed they
have a thin brown fringe with no internal markings. Winter plumage
dowitchers are very similar.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status:N/A
Breeding Habitat:N/A
Nest Location:N/A
Nest Type:N/A
Clutch Size:4
Length of Incubation: 21 days
Days to Fledge:?
Number of Broods:?
Diet: Almost exclusively aquatic invertebrates; lesser quantities of seeds

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May Acc
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November Acc

     Winter: December, January, February

 

 

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