Limnodromus griseus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The short-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), like its congener, the long-billed dowitcher, is a medium-sized, stocky, long-billed shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is an inhabitant of North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is strongly migratory; it completely vacates its breeding areas during the snow-bound months. This species favors a variety of habitats, including tundra in the north to ponds and mudflats in the south. It feeds on invertebrates often by rapidly probing its bill into mud in a sewing machine fashion. It and the very similar long-billed dowitcher were considered one species until 1950. Field identification of the two American Limnodromus remains difficult today. Distinguishing wintering or juvenile short-billed dowitchers from the long-billed species is very difficult and, even given examination of their subtlety different body shapes, cannot always be isolated to a particular species. They differ most substantially in vocalizations. The names of American dowitchers are misleading, as there is much overlap in their bill lengths. Only a small percentage can be identified by this character alone.
The short... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 3 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Short-billed Dowitcher sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 260th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Short-billed Dowitcher in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-billed Dowitcher sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
27th of 32
Of the 32 parks where we can rate Short-billed Dowitcher sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 27th at under 5%. The best odds are in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%), Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%) and Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same family: Scolopacidae
The closest relatives of the Short-billed Dowitcher that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Spotted Sandpiper (about 10%) and Ruddy Turnstone (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Short-billed Dowitcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (10 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.
