Limosa fedoa
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 15 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterey Bay Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Godwit sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 267 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 143rd most-seen of the 279 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Godwit in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in March to January, the lowest months. That is one of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain against 210 mm in September.
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.
8th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Marbled Godwit sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 50%), Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%) and Bahía de Loreto National Park (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Scolopacidae
The closest relatives of the Marbled Godwit that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Willet (about 30%), Greater Yellowlegs (about 30%) and Ruddy Turnstone (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Marbled Godwit is recorded against all the birds logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (267 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.
