Marbled Godwit
Limosa fedoa

Physical Description

• Large shorebird with thick belly and long legs, and pointed wings in flight.
• Breeding adults: Light brown, cinnamon feathers with dark brown barring. A long two-toned bill, orange turning to black, slightly upturned at end. Dark brown legs.
• Non-breeding adults: Very similar to breeding adult but have un-streaked, cinnamon coloration on bellies and underwings.
• Juveniles: Look like non-breeding adults.

Range

• Breeding: breeds in central Canada, the northern Great Plains. Small breeding population in Alaska, small breeding population in James Bay, Ontario.
• Migrating: migrates through central United States and California to wintering sites in coastal United States, Mexico, and Central America.
• Non-breeding: winters in coastal United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Habitat

• Live in coastal mudflats, wet meadows, estuaries, prairies, pools, salt meadows, and sandy beaches.
• Breed in short grassy areas, marshes, and flooded plains.

Reproduction

• Marbled godwits nest in the ground in shortgrass prairies, often far from water.
• Males males multiple depressions in the ground with their feet and females choose the best one to lay their eggs in.
• The nest is often lined with lichens and grasses.
• A clutch is 3-5 eggs that will hatch after 23-26 days of incubation.
• The eggs are pale buff or olive with small dark brown spots.
• The hatchlings are covered with down, can immediately open their eyes, and can walk.

Diet

• Insects, grasshoppers, crustaceans, mollusks, marine worms, and plant tubers and seeds.
• During migration, they eat almost exclusively plant tubers, using their long bills to clip them.

Predators

• Raccoons and skunks.

Interesting Facts

• Their long bill can probe into wet sand and mud, reaching deeper than other shorebirds.
• They are often seen in huge flocks on salt meadows at high tide.

Sources: AllAboutBirds.org; Audubon Field Guide; University of Michigan

Photo: Paula Selby