General

Marbled Godwit: Large sandpiper with black-marked, dark brown upperparts and lightly barred, chestnut-brown underparts. Bill is pink with black tip, long, and slightly upcurved. Pale brown underwings are visible in flight. Female is duller, sometimes with longer bill. Winter adult has grayer underparts.

Range and Habitat

Marbled Godwit: Breeds on the central plains from Saskatchewan to Minnesota. Spends winters on the coast from California and Virginia southward and along the Gulf coast. During breeding season, found on grassy plains and during migration, visits salt marshes, tidal creeks, mudflats, and sea beaches.

Breeding and Nesting

Marbled Godwit: Three to five green to olive eggs lightly marked with brown are laid in a slight ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 21 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Marbled Godwit: Eats worms, mollusks, crustaceans, and insects. Forages by probing on mudflats and in shallow water; also chases insects in shoreline vegetation.

Vocalization

Marbled Godwit: Makes a loud "kerreck" or "god-wit."

Similar Species

Marbled Godwit: Long-billed Curlew has a thinner, longer, decurved bill. Hudsonian Godwit and the accidental Black-tailed Godwit have white wing stripes and white tails with black terminal bands.