Medium large, heavy bodied. Long straight bill, thicker at the base and swollen at the tip. Sexes alike.
Adults: Breeding: Head, neck, breast and upper belly dark rufous. Top of head, back and scapulars, black, strongly edged rufous giving a streaked appearance. Lores, blackish. Eyereing, white. Eye, brown. Eyebrow, white and bold. Chin and center of belly, white. Lower back, rump, uppertail coverts, and tail, white with narrow dark brown bars mixed with rufous. Flanks and undertail, pale rufous, faintly barred with brown. Underwing, white. Bill, long-straight, thicker at the base and swollen at the tip, black, brown at base. Legs, black or dark grey. Non-breeding: Lacks the red tone. Upperparts, light brownish-grey with feathers edged white. Eyebrow, white but indistinct. Throat, breast and flanks mottled brownish-grey with more distinct barring on flanks. Belly, white.
Immatures: Similar to non-breeding adult, but mantle, scapulars and tertials, dark brown, edged with buff. Neck and breast, washed with buff and finely streaked. Bill, black, but may be pale pinkish at base of lower mandible.
Other Names (World)
Asian Dowitcher, Asiatic Dowitcher, Snipe-billed Dowitcher, Snipe-billed Godwit, Asiatic Snipelike Godwit
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Australia (NB), Bangladesh (NB), Brunei Darussalam (NB), Cambodia, China (mainland) (B) (NB), Hong Kong (China) (NB), India (NB), Indonesia (NB), Japan (NB), Kazakhstan (NB), Malaysia (NB), Mongolia (B), Myanmar (NB), New Zealand (NB), North Korea (NB), Papua New Guinea (NB), Philippines (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Singapore (NB), South Korea (NB), Taiwan (China) (NB), Thailand (NB), Timor-Leste (NB) (P), Uzbekistan (NB), Vietnam (NB) (P).
Vagrant to Kenya, Sri Lanka (NB), United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Disjunct populations from west to eastern Siberian steppe regions, southern into Mongolia and northern Manchuria; the eastern areas may be continuous. Winters from eastern India through south-eastern Asia, south-eastern Sumatra and Java to northern Australia.
Population
Estimated population is 23,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Status NT
Habitat loss in its breeding grounds due to drainage of wetlands for agriculture is the main threat. Hunting, pollution and other pressures may also be of concern.
Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus) [XC833719]
by funkerhunter from Bayandelger, T\u00f6v, Mongolia (flight call)
Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus) [XC806613]
by id from Oldzeyte, Ulziit, \u00d6v\u00f6rkhangai, Mongolia (call, song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds May - August in Eurasia.
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Nest
A scrape in the ground or a platform of grass stalks and dead leaves, over shallow water.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; light olive to sandy-buff, blotched and lined with brown, rufous and cinnamon, often concentrated at the larger end; oval to pyriform; about 50 x 33 mm.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Slightly larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill, slightly upcurved but also tapering, and lacks the bulbous tip. Upperparts, not as heavily marked. Legs, dark grey.
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill, shorter and dark grey. Upperparts, dark grey. Legs, long and greenish.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet