Marbled godwit

Author: Fred J. Kane
Published on: Sep 28, 2001

Marbled godwit Limosa fedoa

Other Names Great Godwit, Red Curlew, Brant Bird, Spike Bill and Doe Bird.

Here in North America on the Pacific Coast the Godwit lives from British Columbia to California. In the central part of North America the bird inhabits the area from Saskatchewan in Canada to North Dakota in the states. On the Atlantic Coast people observe the bird from The Maritime Provinces in Canada south to Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Guatemala in South America. People see the Godwit in New Zealand and Australia too and the bird always winters near inlets.

Other than the Long Billed Curlew the Marbled Godwit is the longest shore bird. The Godwit is from 16 inches to 21 inches in length. It is a very large, long legged, long necked shorebird. Its black tipped bill is very long and slightly recurved. The wing linings are cinnamon in color.

The marbled Godwit is reddish in color, being darker on its back. It has a broad dusky white line from its bill to over the eyes. The sides of head, chin, and upper throat, breast and belly are whitish in color and it doesn't have a white spot at base of tail. The bird has dark brown bars on its chest and flanks. The back feathers have notches with a tan coloring fashioning a dappled affect. The color of both sexes is similar and the juvenile bird has similar coloring but its under parts have less striping.

Its breeding habitat is always next to a wetland near open water. The marbled Godwit builds its nest on the ground in a dry field that is not to far from water and the nest is a small depression in the earth lined with grass.

The female after nest building lays four creamy white to olive drab colored eggs. Also, the eggs have several spots with various shades of reddish-brown. The length of egg incubation is about 22 days and the birds fledge in about three weeks. The number of broods of each pair of birds is usually one but sometimes more.

On first inspection sandy beaches and estuarine mud flats seem barren land for birds, but at second glance the land shows worm holes and casts of small animals that live beneath the surface. When the tide starts to wash over the sand and flats the small animals come to life. An innumerable number of small shrimp, worms and shellfish live in the waters between tide marks. Although each wading bird does not always stick to one feeding method it will alter its feeding habits to match the prevailing conditions.

The Marbled Godwits diet consists mostly of aquatic invertebrates like earthworms, sea worms, mollusks, sandhoppers, small crustaceans, sea and sand grubs and any other food available. Also they will eat a lesser quantity of green plant matter and seeds.

Wading birds like the Marbled Godwit are a very sociable bird. Often you will see the Marbled Godwit, one of the largest waders of North American birds probe the sand for food as it migrates north or south depending on the season. Though the birds are normally very sociable they will bicker with each other until each bird has enough room to probe for food undisturbed.

They provide a service to farmers because it feeds on grasshoppers that harm crops therefore it needs adequate protection.

The 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, white 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.