Long-billed dowitcher

The long-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) is a medium-sized shorebird with a relatively long bill belonging to the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. In breeding plumage, adults are characterized by a rufous head and underparts with a darker mottled back and a large white upper rump only seen in flight. They feed in various freshwater habitats with their bill underwater in a "sewing machine" motion and have a mating display where males chase females in flight. The genus, Limnodromus is Ancient Greek from limne, "marsh" and dromos, "racer". The specific scolopaceus is Neo-Latin for "snipe-like", from Latin scolopax, scolopacis, a snipe or woodcock. The English name is from Iroquois and was first recorded in 1841.

The long-billed dowitcher is similar in appearance to the short-billed dowitcher and was only recognized as a separate species in 1950. Between the two, the best distinguishing field mark is their flight call, especially in winter, when the two species' plumage can be nearly identical. However, the two species differ ecologically in their habitat preferences and breeding locations. Long-billed dowitchers generally prefer freshwater habitats, and breed in northern Alaska and Siberia; their short-billed counterparts favor saltwater habitats and breed farther east, from southern Alaska across Canada to the maritime provinces.

The long-billed dowitcher is a bird in the order Charadriiformes, which includes shorebirds, gulls, and alcids. It is part of the Scolopacidae family, and it belongs to the Scolopacinae subfamily along with snipes and woodcocks. Its genus Limnodromus includes only two other species; the short-billed dowitcher and the Asian dowitcher.

The long-billed dowitcher was first described by Thomas Say in 1823 under the name Limnodromus scolopacea. The taxonomy of the long-billed and short-billed dowitcher has presented difficulties in part due to the variability of the short-billed dowitcher.

For around 100 years the long-billed dowitcher and short-billed dowitcher were recognized as two distinct species.^{[citation needed]} By 1927 the long-billed dowitcher was made a sub-species of the short-billed dowitcher, as the western form, due to bird observations which were similar to both species linking the two geographically. It was not until Frank Pitelka published his monograph, in 1950, that the two dowitcher species were once again accepted as being two distinct species. Further research has shown that the two species are estimated to have diverged genetically more than four million years ago.

The long-billed dowitcher is a medium-sized, stocky sandpiper with a bill about twice the length of its head. In all plumages, the long-billed dowitcher has a whitish supercilium and dark loral stripe that continuous past the eye. The tail is barred black and white with the black being almost twice the width of the white and a large distinctive white rump which extends up to the middle of its back.

Long-billed dowitcher are in breeding plumage from approximately May to late August or early September. In breeding plumage, adults are characterized by a dark crown on top of their head and a rufous neck, chest, and belly underneath with black bars on their breast and white barring on flanks when plumage is fresh. The older the feathers get the less the black bars may appear leaving the breast dark redish. The crown and the back are a mix of brown, black and buff markings. Wings and upper-back are mottled with black, buff, and white markings looking overall dark brown.

When in the winter plumage the long-billed dowitcher is very difficult to identify in the field with the short-billed dowitcher. In non-breeding plumage, adults are drab grey, with darker upperparts and breast contrasting with paler white belly. The gray of the breast also gradually lightens as it reaches the chin.