Sunday 28 February 2016

Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Limnodromus ("marsh runner") scolopaceus ("snipe/woodcock")
                                     Winter plumage vagrant adult Long-billed Dowitcher at Rutland Water, Rutland - April 2016 

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 90-135g  /  Length: 23-30cm  /  Wingspan: 46-52cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Long-billed Dowitcher is a wading bird primarily from North America and Eastern Siberia that resembles in many ways a smaller version of the godwit species found in the UK. Over here it is a rare vagrant, although at the point I saw this it seems to have been having a slight inundation - this was the second individual of this species to turn up in adjacent counties to Northants within two weeks, and I'm glad I went for this one; the first was considerably more difficult to get to with considerably more distant views!

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Limnodromus
Subspecies: none - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Rare and occassional vagrant
 - Single vagrant bird seen at Rutland Water in February 2016

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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