Short-billed dowitcher

Left:  Short-billed dowitcher I photographed in Anchorage, Alaska.
Right:  Long-billed dowitcher I photographed in Red Deer, Alberta.

I like shorebirds.  Their diversity, sounds, and remarkable body adaptations have always enthralled me.  I was on a shoreline walk while visiting Anchorage, Alaska some two weeks ago and came across this short-billed dowitcher.  This begs the question, "Are you sure it is the short-billed version and not the long-billed version?"

I am sure that the measurements can be argued due to differences in body position, body fat, and other parameters that I never took into account.  However, the short-billed dowitcher seems to indeed have a shorter bill than its long-billed cousin.  Not that you could easily measure such a thing in the wild to help with identification.  I also looked at Cornell Labs' All About Birds website for the comparison of the two species and find that my conclusions seem appropriate (click here to see the page).

The reading I have done on the two species is interesting.  Short-billed dowitchers seem to prefer saltwater, while the long-billed variety shows a tendency towards freshwater.  In spite of the fact that they look similar and both have very long bills, they seem to have marked differences in preferred nesting sites, eating habits, and social habits.

I have never taken the time to examine the difference between the two species.  Now that I have, I may be able to tell them apart in the field.  One can only hope.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com