Asian Dowitcher

Asian Dowitcher

Limnodromus semipalmatus

LCNTNear ThreatenedVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Manila

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

30 Verified sightings at Manila
March Best month

About the Asian Dowitcher

The Asian dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus) is a medium-large wader in the Scolopacidae family of sandpipers. Adults have dark legs and a long, straight dark bill, somewhat shorter than that of the long-billed dowitcher. The body is brown on top and reddish underneath in breeding plumage. The tail has a black and white barred pattern. The winter plumage is largely grey.

Their breeding habitat is grassy wetlands in inland Siberia and Manchuria. They migrate to southeast Asia as far south as northern Australia, although both the breeding and wintering areas are poorly known. This bird is always found on coasts during migration and wintering.

These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, molluscs, crustaceans, and marine worms, but also eat some plant material. This bird can be confused for its confamilial bar-tailed godwit, but can be distinguished by its smaller size, yelping call, and "sewing machine" feeding action typical of dowitchers. Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater, ISBN 0-7099-2034-2 Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:33

China · 2025

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC1099124 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:18

Mongolia · 2023

© Sébastien Provost - Birding Mont-Saint-Michel · XC806613 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Unknown type0:33

Taiwan · 2015

© funkerhunter · XC349045 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
<5%
2 Manila 🇵🇭 Philippines
<5%
3 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Asian Dowitcher in Manila?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Dowitcher sighting in Manila on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 137th most-seen of the 191 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Asian Dowitcher in Manila?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Dowitcher in Manila on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

Is Manila the best place to see an Asian Dowitcher?

Among the best

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Asian Dowitcher sightings, Manila ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kochi (India, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Asian Dowitcher live in Manila?

Same family: Scolopacidae

The closest relatives of the Asian Dowitcher that you can see in Manila (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Common Sandpiper (about 10%), Common Greenshank (about 10%) and Common Redshank (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Asian Dowitcher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Asian Dowitcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Manila (30 verified sightings), 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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