Hudsonian Godwit

Limosa haemastica

HOW TO IDENTIFY:

* Length: 13 inches
* Large shorebird
* Long upturned bill, pink at base and dark at tip
* Black wing linings contrasting with white bases to flight feathers
* White wing stripe
* White rump and dark tail
* Dark legs

Adult alternate

* Gray, streaked head with white supercilium and dark eyeline
* Chestnut underparts with dense black and gray barring
* Black upperparts with small white spots

Adult basic

* Gray upperparts and breast
* White underparts

Juvenile

* Similar to adult basic
* Wing coverts have small black tips
* Brownish wash to gray upperparts

Similar species:

Dowitchers also have long bills and feed in a similar manner but are smaller with uniform, not pink and dark, bills. The Marbled Godwit is larger with buffy underparts. In flight, the Marbled Godwit has plain wings and a dark rump. The rare Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits are similar. They are easiest to tell apart in flight. The black wing linings of the Hudsonian Godwit are diagnostic. The Black-tailed has a wider wing stripe while the Bar-tailed Godwit has a white rump patch extending up the back.