Marbled Godwit

Limosa fedoa

Order CHARADRIIFORMES - Family SCOLOPACIDAE - Subfamily Scolopacinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

A large shorebird with a long, upturned bill, the Marbled Godwit breeds in the center of the continent and winters along the coasts. It breeds in the northern prairies, amongst grasslands and scattered wetlands.

Cool Facts

• Nests of the Marbled Godwit are not easily found, as these birds do not readily flush off of their eggs. Incubating adults can sometimes be picked up from the nest.

• The Marbled Godwit was long regarded as showing no noticeable geographic variation until measurements of birds breeding in Alaska showed these populations to have shorter wings and legs than Great Plains godwits.

Description

• Size: 42-48 cm (17-19 in)
• Weight: 285-454 g (10.06-16.03 ounces)

Large shorebird. Long, slightly upturned bill with dark tip and pinkish base. Long legs. Rich buff-brown all over. Cinnamon wing linings. Orangish stripe in wings. Breeding plumage with barring across chest. Nonbreeding plumage with plain breast.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but male smaller and with brighter bill base and more extensive barring when breeding.

Immature

Juvenile similar to nonbreeding adult.

Similar Species

• Long-billed Curlew is similarly colored, but has long, down-curved bill.
• Bar-tailed Godwit is slightly smaller, has a shorter bill, lacks bright cinnamon underwings, and is more reddish in breeding plumage and more gray in nonbreeding plumage.
• Husonian Godwit smaller, has shorter bill, is colored deep reddish or gray, has black tail, white rump, black underwings, and black-and-white pattern in wings.
• Rare Black-tailed Godwit has white underwings, black tail, white rump, and black-and-white pattern in wings.

Sound

Call nasal, slightly crowing or laughing "ah, ha" or "ahk."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in northern Great Plains from Alberta to western Ontario, southward to Montana and South Dakota. Also along shore of James Bay in northern Ontario, and an isolated population in southwestern Alaska.

Winter Range

Winters along coasts from southern British Columbia and North Carolina southward to Central America.

Habitat

Breeds in marshes and flooded plains, in migration and winter also on mudflats and beaches.

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Usually 4 eggs. Range: 3-5.

Condition at Hatching

Active and covered with down.

Conservation Status

Declined dramatically in 1800s. Current populations appear stable.

Other Names

Barge marbrée (French)
Picopando canelo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Gratto-Trevor, C. L. 2000. Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa). In The Birds of North America, No. 492 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.