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Cool Facts |
Photo
taken from:
The
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by
David Allen Sibley
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- Most Siberian breeding Long-billed Dowitchers likely migrate to the
Americas during the winter.
- Although both sexes share incubation of the eggs, only the male
takes care of the young once they hatch.
- A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind",
"contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.
- Their bills are full of nerve endings, which are useful for sensing
prey. They walk along slowly, lifting their heads up and down like a
sewing machine.
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Description |
Adult Description
- Medium-sized shorebird.
- Bill twice as long as head.
- Moderately long, pale legs.
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Immature Description
Juvenal plumage with brownish gray chest and flanks, less spotting and
barring than breeding adults. Back feathers dark centered with broad
buffy edges, giving a slightly scaly appearance. Tertials dark grayish
with narrow rusty edges. |
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Range Map |
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Taxonomic Hierarchy |
© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Kingdom: |
Animalia |
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Phylum: |
Chordata |
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Subphylum: |
Vertebrata |
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Class: |
Aves |
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Order: |
Ciconiiformes |
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Family: |
Scolopacidae |
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Genus: |
Limnodromus |
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Species: |
Limnodromus scolopaceus |
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Sound |
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Flight call a sharp "peep," or quick series of two to five
notes, "pee-p-p-pep."
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Identification and
Information
See
Anatomy
of a Bird
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Body |
- Length
Range: 28-32 cm (11-12.5 in)
- Weight:
99 g (3.5 oz)
- Size:
Medium (9 - 16 in)
- Color
Primary: Brown, Rufous or Rust
- Underparts:
Rust-brown with black bars.
- Upperparts:
Black, gray-brown and rust-brown,
appearing scaled.
- Back
Pattern: Striped or streaked, Mottled
- Belly
Pattern: Solid
- Breast
Pattern: Scaled or Scalloped
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Head |
- Bill Shape:
Dagger
- Eye Color:
Dark brown.
- Head
Pattern: Eyeline, Capped, Striped,
Streaked, Eyering
- Crown Color:
Brown
- Forehead
Color: Brown
- Nape Color:
Pale brown and brown speckled.
- Throat
Color: Pale brown and brown speckled.
- Cere color:
No Data
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Flight |
- Flight
Pattern: Swift direct flight with rapid
wing beats.
- Wingspan
Range: 46-51 cm (18-20 in)
- Wing Shape:
Pointed-Wings
- Tail Shape:
Squared Tail
- Tail
Pattern: Barred
- Upper Tail:
Rust with gray and black bars.
- Under Tail:
Rust with gray and black bars.
- Leg Color:
Yellow-green
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Breeding |
- Breeding Location:
Tundra
- Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Small colonies
- Breeding Population:
Common to uncommon
- Egg Color:
Brown to olive with brown and gray blotches
- Number of Eggs:
4
- Incubation Days:
20
- Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
- Nest Material:
Lined with grasses and moss.
- Migration: Migratory
- Condition at Hatching: Downy
chicks able to walk immediately, leave nest
when all are hatched. Not fed by parents.
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Other Names |
Similar Species |
- Bécassin à long bec (French)
- Costurero pico largo (Spanish)
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- Wilson's Snipe has similar proportions, but has dark rump and tail
and golden stripes down back.
- Stilt Sandpiper has longer legs, a shorter, slightly down-curved
bill, and a white rump that does not extend up the back.
- Short-billed Dowitcher is extremely similar and difficult to
distinguish in most plumages. Voice is best character to distinguish
adults. Juvenile short-billed has tiger-striped tertials instead of
plain gray ones.
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Conservation Status |
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Populations seem to be stable or increasing. |
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Habitat |
Sources used to
Construct this Page: |
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Found on mudflats, marshes, and edges of freshwater ponds and
marshes during winter. |
- Takekawa, J. Y., and N. Warnock. 2000. Long-billed
Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus). In
The Birds of North America, No. 493 (A. Poole and F.
Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc.,
Philadelphia, PA.
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Food |
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Aquatic invertebrates and insects. |
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Behavior |
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Probes deeply into soft substances to the depth of the bill,
sometimes submerging the head. Short jabbing and probing in
distinctive "sewing machine" motion. |
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