General

Long-billed Dowitcher: Large, stocky sandpiper with dark, mottled upperparts, darker cap and eyestripe, short white eyebrow, and red-brown underparts with lightly barred flanks. Bill is very long, dark, and is very slightly decurved. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Sexes are similar, although female may have longer bill. Winter adult is gray overall with lightly barred white belly and shows fine dark spots on white vent. Juvenile resembles winter adult but is darker above and shows a brown wash on underparts.

Range and Habitat

Long-billed Dowitcher: Breeds in western Alaska and northwestern Canada. Spends winters along the coast from Washington and Virginia south to Guatemala. During breeding season lives on tundra; found on mudflats, marshes, and edges of freshwater ponds and marshes during winter.

Breeding and Nesting

Long-billed Dowitcher: Four brown to olive eggs with brown and gray blotches are laid in a shallow, elevated ground scrape lined with grass and moss, often built near water. Eggs are incubated for 20 days and is carried out by both parents during the first week, and then just by the male.

Foraging and Feeding

Long-billed Dowitcher: Feeds primarily on insect larvae, earthworms, crustaceans, moss, plant parts, seeds, and snails. Probes in shallow water and on mudflats with a fast, repetitive up-down motion of its bill; frequently plunges head below the water.

Vocalization

Long-billed Dowitcher: Alarm call is a single, loud "keek."

Similar Species

Long-billed Dowitcher: Short-billed Dowitcher has faint bars on flanks and slightly shorter bill. Common Snipe has heavily streaked upperparts and longer legs, uses different foraging techniques, and lacks the white rump.