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Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: SBDO Scientific Name: LIMGRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176675
Least Concern
 
Short-billed Dowitcher: The breeding adult Short-billed Dowitcher has dark brown mottled upperparts, white rump, and red-brown underparts with heavy spots and bars. Bill is long, straight, and dark. Legs are long and dark yellow-green.
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Overview

Short-billed Dowitcher Breeding Adult: Large sandpiper, upperparts mottled gray, black, brown and red-brown, white rump, red-brown underparts with heavy spots, and bars (east and west coast birds have heavier barred and spotted, paler underparts and often show white bellies). Strong direct flight.

Range and Habitat

Short-billed Dowitcher: Breeds in southern Alaska, central interior Canada, and northern Quebec. Spends winters along coasts of California and Virginia southward. Preferred habitats include mudflats, creeks, salt marshes, and tidal estuaries.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tu-tu-tu"

Interesting Facts

 A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Short-billed Dowitcher

Related Birds

Stilt Sandpiper
Jack Snipe
Long-billed Dowitcher
Red Phalarope
Wilson's Snipe
.
Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Limnodromus griseus
Length10.5 - 12 Inches
Wingspan20 Inches

Short-billed Dowitcher

Short-billed Dowitcher Breeding Adult: Large sandpiper, upperparts mottled gray, black, brown and red-brown, white rump, red-brown underparts with heavy spots, and bars (east and west coast birds have heavier barred and spotted, paler underparts and often show white bellies). Strong direct flight.

● Song: "tu-tu-tu"

● Foraging & Feeding: Short-billed Dowitcher: Diet consists mostly of insects, but also eats eggs of king and horseshoe crabs; probes mud by jabbing its long bill up and down.

● Breeding & nesting: Short-billed Dowitcher: Four brown-speckled, buff green or brown eggs are laid in a ground depression lined with grass and moss. Eggs are incubated for 21 days by the female.

● Similar species: Short-billed Dowitcher: Long-billed Dowitcher has barred flanks, rust-brown belly, thin, white wing stripes visible in flight, and longer bill.

Flight Pattern

Strong powerful direct flight.
Short-billed Dowitcher Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Short-billed Dowitcher: Breeds in southern Alaska, central interior Canada, and northern Quebec. Spends winters along coasts of California and Virginia southward. Preferred habitats include mudflats, creeks, salt marshes, and tidal estuaries.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight3.8 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX