Short-Billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) lives in wet coastal plains across North America. It feeds on insects & crustaceans. Its conservation status is Vulnerable.
Fascinating facts about the Short-Billed Dowitcher
- Short-billed dowitchers pack a surprising punch for a shorebird, measuring just 23 to 32 cm long, about the length of a school ruler, yet they spread a wingspan of 46 to 56 cm, roughly the width of a large pizza box, and weigh between 73 and 155 g, comparable to a handful of nickels. Their compact, stocky build lets them dart across mudflats with the agility of a sprinter, while the broad wings give them the lift needed for long migratory flights.
- When winter snow blankets their northern breeding grounds, short-billed dowitchers vanish completely. They travel from tundra bogs to the southern United States and push as far as Brazil. Occasionally a lone bird drifts across the Atlantic and shows up in western Europe, but such sightings are rare.
- Feeding like a tiny excavator, the short-billed dowitcher probes shallow water and wet mud with its long bill in a rapid, sewing-machine motion, extracting insects, mollusks, crustaceans and marine worms, and even nibbling some plant material. This versatile diet lets it thrive in diverse wetlands, from northern tundra ponds to tropical mudflats.
- First described in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, the short-billed dowitcher earned its scientific name Scolopax grisea before being moved to the genus Limnodromus, a name that fuses the Greek words for "marsh" and "runner" traces back to an Iroquois word recorded in 1841, linking the bird to Indigenous language and culture.
- Short-billed dowitchers build shallow ground nests hidden in grass or moss near water, laying four, sometimes three, olive-buff to brown eggs that hatch into downy chicks. Both parents share the incubation duty for exactly 21 days.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatWet coastal plains
DietInsects & crustaceans
About the Short-Billed Dowitcher
As the tide recedes, the Short-Billed Dowitcher emerges, its slender form gliding effortlessly across the mudflats in a mesmerizing dance of pursuit, probing the exposed sediment with its sensitive bill in search of hidden crustaceans and mollusks. With each deliberate step, the dowitcher's long legs seem to unfold and refold, as if orchestrating a ballet of survival, their subtle movements a testament to the bird's remarkable adaptability in a world of shifting tides and uncertain fortunes. In this ephemeral landscape, the dowitcher's very existence is a poignant reminder of the fragile beauty that hangs in the balance.
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