Long-billed Dowitcher

(Limnodromus scolopaceus)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Shorebirds

Summer Plumage

Color Photograph: Chan Robbins, U.S. Geological Survey

Winter Plumage

Color Photographs: © by and courtesy of Stuart Healy Western U.S. Bird Guide

www.aztrogon.com

Winter Plumage

Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Recording by John R. Sauer, U.S. Geological Survey

Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 12 inches.

Summer Plumage: General coloration generally rich brown, back and wing feathers margined with white or orange. Bill long, heavy appearing, mostly straight, although tip slightly downturned. Underside suffused with rusty-red, particularly on the breast and sides. Dark markings on sides arranged in rough, vertical bars. Rump white and tail finely white and black striped. The Rump and tail characters are rarely seen unless the bird is flying. Legs greenish-yellow.

Winter Plumage: Back and wings gray-brown without rusty-orange tints. Side of head white with a distinct dark line through the eye. Sides, neck, and breast variably tinged with gray. Otherwise as in summer plumage.

Winter Plumage: Back and wings gray-brown without rusty-orange tints. Side of head white with a distinct dark line through the eye. Sides, neck, and breast variably tinged with gray. Otherwise as in summer plumage.

Similar Species:  The Short-billed Dowitcher can be extremely difficult to distinguish from the Long-billed Dowitcher. The Long-billed Dowitcher has a slightly longer and heavier appearing bill. The general coloration is darker and the underside is more rusty-red than rusty-orange. The dark markings ont the sides of the Short-billed Dowitcher are irregular and not arranged in vertical bars. Winter plumage birds are nearly identical and a best separated by their voice. The voice of the Short-tailed Dowitcher is a soft tu-tu-tu. In contrast the voice of the Long-billed Dowitcher is a sharp, high keek. The Long-billed Dowitcher might be mistaken for species of godwits. However godwits are larger birds with a bicolored bill; orange at the base and black at the tip. In contrast the bill of the Long-billed Dowitcher is all black.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Long-billed Dowitcher breeds along the northern coastal areas of Alaska and the Yukon.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters along the coastal areas of the United States from Virginia in the east to Washington State in the west.

Habitat: The Long-billed Dowitcher breeds in muskeg (boggy land with short, stunted coniferous trees). Winter individuals are found on mudflats, marshes, and the shores of ponds and lakes.

Food: Aquatic invertebrates.

Behavior: The Long-billed Dowitcher has a distinct preference for freshwater habitats in contrast to the saltwater habits of the Short-billed Dowitcher. The voice of the Long-billed Dowitcher is a high keek. A recording of this species may be found on the left side of the page.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 4 brown-spotted dull green eggs. The eggs are laid in a depression on the ground lined with moss and grass.