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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Limnodromus griseus
Short-billed Dowitcher

 
Scientific Name: Limnodromus griseus (Gmelin, 1789)
English Name: Short-billed Dowitcher
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: B-SBDO
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Aves Charadriiformes Scolopacidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G3 (Mar 2024)
Provincial Status: S1S2B,S2S3M (Apr 2023)
BC List: Red
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status: Endangered (Nov 2024)
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2005)
Migratory Bird Convention Act: Y
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Reproduction Comments: Breeding begins in late May to early June (Harrison 1978). A single clutch of three to five eggs is laid each season (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Incubation lasts about 21 days (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Nestlings are precocial. Females takes little part in raising brood, may leave breeding area in late June (Hayman et al. 1986).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		N /
N /
Y /
na /
Global Migration Comments: The northward spring migration takes place from late March to early June (Stiles and Skutch 1989, Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Subspecies griseus concentrates in Suriname along the northeastern coast of South America in late April, migrates over the Caribbean and the western Atlantic, and arrives in the northeastern U.S. from Delaware Bay to Long Island Sound by mid-May, before traveling over land to breeding grounds by early June (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Important spring migration stopover sites for subspecies hendersoni have not been identified, although western Hudson Bay may be an important stopover site before arriving at breeding grounds (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Subspecies caurinus migrates northward almost a full month earlier than the eastern population, reaching the western United States in mid- to late-April (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). This western population broadly uses the Pacific Coast of the U.S. during spring migration but the highest concentrations occur at Grays Harbor, Washington and Yakutat Bay, Alaska (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020).

The southward fall migration begins as early as July, although some individuals may not reach their final non-breeding site until September (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Subspecies griseus migrates over land to concentrate in southeastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. in the Gulf of Lawrence and Bay of Fundy (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020, McKellar et al. 2020). Migration takes place over the western Atlantic with multiple stopovers throughout U.S. Atlantic Coast and the Caribbean. Peak migration in the Caribbean is from late August to early September (Caņizares et al. 2023). Many individuals reach the South American coast in Suriname from mid-August to early October before dispersing (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Subspecies hendersoni concentrates in coastal New York and New Jersey, U.S. after leaving the breeding grounds (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Western Hudson Bay and southern James Bay, Canada may also be important sites for subspecies hendersoni en route to New York and New Jersey (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). The highest concentration of subspecies caurinus during fall migration occurs in Grays Harbor, Washington in late July to mid-June (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence) 		Agriculture / Cultivated Field / Facultative - occasional use
Agriculture / Hedgerow / Facultative - occasional use
Agriculture / Pasture/Old Field / Facultative - occasional use
Alpine/Tundra / Alpine/Subalpine Meadow / Unknown
Anthropogenic / Urban/Suburban / Facultative - occasional use
Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use
Ocean / Intertidal Marine / Facultative - frequent use
Other Unique Habitats / Beach / Facultative - occasional use
Other Unique Habitats / Estuary / Facultative - frequent use
Other Unique Habitats / Mudflats - Intertidal / Facultative - frequent use
Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use
Wetland / Fen / Facultative - frequent use
Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - occasional use
Global Habitat Comments: Nests in grassy or mossy tundra and wet meadows, in muskeg. The nest is a shallow hollow in mosses or grasses, lined with grasses, leaves, and twigs. Non-breeding habitat includes mudflats, estuaries, shallow marshes, pools, ponds, flooded fields and sandy beaches (AOU 1983, Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). Prefers shallow salt water with soft muddy bottom, but visits various wetlands during migration (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020).
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Probes mud and sand (usually through shallow water) in search of insects (larvae of flies, water beetles, and other aquatic insects), marine worms, crustaceans, and mollusks.
Global Phenology: Circadian: Adult, Immature
Global Phenology Comments: This species breeds in June and July (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). The non-breeding season occurs from August-May (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). See Migration/Mobility Comments for details on migration timing.
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 28/ / 116
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: The breeding season (May to mid-August) range is entirely within northern North America from southern coastal Alaska, United States (U.S.) east through Canada to extreme western Labrador (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). To estimate the breeding range extent, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF 2024) records were filtered to the years 2004-2024 (i.e., the past 20 years), during the months of June-August, then records that appeared to be outside of the breeding range map in Jehl et al. (2020) were removed. GeoCat (2024) calculated the breeding range extent to be approximately 2.7 million kmē. The breeding range is the more limited range extent and is the basis for this assessment.

The non-breeding season (August to late April) range is entirely coastal. It extends from northern California, U.S. to central Peru on the Pacific Coast, and from southern Virginia, U.S. to northern Brazil on the Atlantic Coast, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean (Jehl Jr. et al. 2020). To estimate the non-breeding range extent, GBIF (2024) records were filtered to the years 2004-2024, during the months of December to February to avoid including observations made during periods of migration, and records of obvious rare vagrancies were removed. Using GBIF (2024) records since 2004 (i.e., the past 20 years), GeoCat (2024) calculated the non-breeding range extent to be approximately 31 million kmē.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G. (1995); rev. R. L. Gundy (2024)
Last Updated: Mar 07, 2024
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
Avise, J. C., and R. M. Zink. 1988. Molecular genetic divergence between avian sibling species: king and clapper rails, long-billed and short-billed dowitchers, boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles, and tufted and black-crested titmice. Auk 105:516-528.
Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC.
Carter, M., C. Hunter, D. Pashley, and D. Petit. 1998. The Watch List. Bird Conservation, Summer 1998:10.
Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa. 428 pp.
Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Maisonneuve, C. 1993. Is population decline in short-billed dowitchers, LIMNODROMUS GRISEUS, related to hydroelectric projects? Can. Field-Nat. 107:253-255.
Morrison, R. I. G., and R. K. Ross. 1989. Atlas of Nearctic shorebirds on the coast of South America. Vols. 1 and 2. Canadian Wildl. Serv. Spec. Publ. 325 pp.
Morrison, R. I. G., R. E. Gill, Jr., B. A. Harrington, S. Skagen, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and S. M. Haig. 2001. Estimates of shorebird populations in North America. Occasional Paper Number 104, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON. 64 pages.
National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
Oberholser, H.C. 1974. The bird life of Texas. 2 vols. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin.
Raffaele, H. A. 1983a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 255 pp.
Robert, M., R. McNeil, and A. Leduc. 1989. Conditions and significance of night feeding in shorebirds and other water birds in a tropical lagoon. Auk 106:94-101.
Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Wilds, C., and M. Newlon. 1983. The identification of dowitchers. Birding 15:151-166.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2024. Species Summary: Limnodromus griseus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Apr 21, 2026).