Marbled Godwit

Marbled Godwit

Limosa fedoa

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCNTVUVulnerableENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Carara National Park

In 3 days <5%

34 Verified sightings at Carara National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,600 In all 15 parks
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Marbled Godwit

The marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa) is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit. In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the marbled godwit in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Greater American Godwit". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the marbled godwit with godwits and ibises in the genus Scolopax. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Scolopax fedoa and cited Edwards' work. The marbled godwit is now placed in the genus Limosa that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name Limosa is from Latin and means "muddy", from limus, "mud". The specific epithet fedoa may be an Old English name for a godwit. The word was mentioned by the English naturalist William Turner in 1544.

Two subspecies are recognised... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:30

United States · 2022

© Nancy Salem · XC741979 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:11

United States · 2015

© Frank Lambert · XC408631 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight song1:25

United States · 2011

© Paul Marvin · XC163164 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~50%
2 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
3 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
4 Padre Island National Seashore 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
11 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
12 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
15 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
4 Tijuana 🇲🇽 México
~10%
5 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
7 Baltimore 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
10 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Monterey Bay Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Marbled Godwit in Carara National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Godwit sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 343rd most-seen of the 414 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Marbled Godwit in Carara National Park?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Godwit in Carara National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Marbled Godwit?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marbled Godwit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Which relatives of the Marbled Godwit live in Carara National Park?

Same family: Scolopacidae

The closest relatives of the Marbled Godwit that you can see in Carara National Park (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Spotted Sandpiper (about 40%), Hudsonian Whimbrel (about 40%) and Whimbrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Marbled Godwit sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Marbled Godwit is recorded against all the birds logged in Carara National Park (34 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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