Long-billed Dowitcher

The Long-billed Dowitcher is a medium to large sandpiper virtually indistinguishable in the field from the Short-billed Dowitcher by structure alone, sharing the same long, straight bill and rapid, sewing-machine-like feeding action.

Breeding plumage shows deep rufous coloring extending across the underparts to the belly, typically with more extensive barring on the flanks than Short-billed Dowitcher. Nonbreeding birds are plain gray above and below, essentially identical to nonbreeding Short-billed Dowitchers.

Despite the name, bill length overlaps substantially between the two dowitcher species, and voice remains the most reliable distinguishing feature in the field.

Key field marks

• Long, straight bill used in a rapid up-and-down probing motion
• Deep rufous underparts extending to the belly with barring on the flanks in breeding plumage
• Plain gray upperparts and underparts in nonbreeding plumage
• Sharp, high-pitched single-note "keek" call — the most reliable field mark

Similar species

• Short-billed Dowitcher: essentially identical in shape and structure; distinguished mainly by its mellow, multi-note "tu-tu-tu" call versus the sharp single "keek" of Long-billed, and by a preference for coastal rather than freshwater habitats.
• Wilson's Snipe: more strongly striped plumage pattern, shorter legs, favors dense vegetation over open mud.

Habitat

Long-billed Dowitchers favor freshwater wetlands such as flooded fields, marshes, and pond edges more than the coastal/brackish sites preferred by Short-billed Dowitchers, though the two species can occur together during migration.

Range and migration

They breed on Arctic tundra in Alaska and easternmost Siberia. They winter primarily in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America, migrating through the interior of North America more commonly than the Short-billed Dowitcher.

Behavior

Long-billed Dowitchers often feed in tight flocks, probing repeatedly and rapidly in soft mud and shallow water with the same rhythmic, vertical bill motion characteristic of both dowitcher species.

Voice

The call is a sharp, high-pitched, single "keek," sometimes repeated, quite different from the softer, rolling "tu-tu-tu" of the Short-billed Dowitcher and the best way to confirm identification.

Feeding

They feed by rapidly probing soft mud and shallow freshwater for insect larvae, small mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs nest on the ground on Arctic tundra, typically laying four eggs in a shallow, sparsely lined scrape; incubation is shared between the parents, though the female often departs before the young fledge.