Marbled godwit Limosa fedoa

Identification Tips:

• Length: 16 inches
• Very large, long-legged, long-necked shorebird
• Very long, slightly recurved bill
• Pink-based black-tipped bill
• Cinnamon wing linings
• Sexes similar
• Juvenile similar to adult

Adult alternate

• Pale buff head, neck, breast and belly
• Pale face with dark loral stripe
• Dark brown barring on breast and flanks
• Dark back feathers notched with buff creating a mottled effect
• Upperwings brown, with inner wing contrasting with darker outer wing in flight

Adult basic:

• Similar to alternate-plumaged adult, but underparts without or with less barring

Similar species:

Long-billed Curlew is similar in plumage, but has a thinner, longer, decurved bill. The Hudsonian Godwit (and the accidental Black-tailed Godwit) has a white wing stripe and a white tail with a black terminal band. The accidental Bar-tailed Godwit is smaller, with unbarred underparts, whtie wing linings, and a shorter bill that is not so extensively pink-based. Hudsonian, Black-tailed, and Bar-tailed Godwits are grayer in basic plumage and rustier in alternate plumage.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.