Limnodromus scolopaceus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | California Academy of Sciences | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-billed Dowitcher sighting in San Luis Potosí on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 28th most-seen of the 62 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Long-billed Dowitcher in San Luis Potosí on a given day, against under 5% in January and April–November, the lowest months. Those are among San Luis Potosí's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-billed Dowitcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 28
Of the 28 cities where we can rate Long-billed Dowitcher sightings, San Luis Potosí ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mesa (United States, about 30%) and León (México, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-billed Dowitcher is recorded against all the birds logged in San Luis Potosí (10 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.
