Hudsonian Godwit

Limosa haemasticaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Codes: Common Name: HUGO Scientific Name: LIMHAE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176690

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Overview

Hudsonian Godwit: Large sandpiper with white-scaled, brown-black upperparts, black-barred chestnut-brown underparts. Long bill, slightly upcurved and pink with black tip. White rump, white wing-bar, black underwings visible in flight. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Swift, powerful undulating flight.

Range and Habitat

Hudsonian Godwit: Nests on mixed tundra/wetlands in northern Canada and Alaska. Migrates south off the Atlantic coast to South America for the winter. Preferred habitats include muddy, sandy, or rocky shores, freshwater marshes, mudflats, and flooded fields.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kae-wit"

Interesting Facts

After breeding, the Hudsonian Godwit undertakes a migration from the subarctic to southern South America, in which it apparently makes nonstop flights of several thousand miles.

It is the smallest and least known of the world’s four godwit species.

It once was regarded as one of North America’s rarest birds; though it is now known to be much more numerous, it is still considered highly vulnerable because its population is concentrated at only a few sites.

A group of godwits are collectively known as an "omniscience", "pantheon", and "prayer" of godwits.

Bird Term Glossary

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Hudsonian Godwit

● Song: "kae-wit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Hudsonian Godwit: Feeds mostly on insects; also eats crustaceans, mollusks, and marine worms.

● Breeding & nesting: Hudsonian Godwit: Three to four olive buff to olive brown eggs marked with olive brown are laid in a shallow hollow on the ground, lined with dead leaves and fresh grass, and hidden under marsh grass or a shrub. Both parents (female during the day and male at night) incubate the eggs for 22 to 25 days. Young fly at 30 days.

● Similar species: Hudsonian Godwit: Marbled Godwit is richer brown with cinnamon-brown underwings and heavily barred breast.

Flight Pattern

Flies in V formation in migration., Swift powerful undulating flight.

● Range & Habitat: Hudsonian Godwit: Nests on mixed tundra/wetlands in northern Canada and Alaska. Migrates south off the Atlantic coast to South America for the winter. Preferred habitats include muddy, sandy, or rocky shores, freshwater marshes, mudflats, and flooded fields.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon to uncommon

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight7.8 Ounces

Sandpiper-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America