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Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Marbled Godwit

Limosa fedoa ORDER: CHARADRIIFORMES FAMILY: SCOLOPACIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

A large shorebird with a long, upturned bill, the Marbled Godwit breeds in the center of the continent and winters along the coasts. It breeds in the northern prairies, amongst grasslands and scattered wetlands.

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Appearance

Shorebirds
Shorebirds
Typical Voice

Adult Description

Large shorebird. Long, slightly upturned bill with dark tip and pinkish base. Long legs. Rich buff-brown all over. Cinnamon wing linings. Orangish stripe in wings. Breeding plumage with barring across chest. Nonbreeding plumage with plain breast.

Immature Description

Juvenile similar to nonbreeding adult.

Range Map Help

Marbled Godwit Range Map
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Field MarksHelp

  • Adult Nonbreeding
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    Marbled Godwit

    Adult Nonbreeding
    • © BA Bowen, Honeymoon State Park, Florida, October 2011
  • Adult Nonbreeding
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    Marbled Godwit

    Adult Nonbreeding
    • © Gary Tyson, Chincoteague NWR, Virginia, September 2012
  • Adult Breeding
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    Marbled Godwit

    Adult Breeding

Similar Species

  • Long-billed Curlew is similarly colored, but has long, down-curved bill.
  • Bar-tailed Godwit is slightly smaller, has a shorter bill, lacks bright cinnamon underwings, and is more reddish in breeding plumage and more gray in nonbreeding plumage.
  • Hudsonian Godwit is smaller, has shorter bill, is colored deep reddish or gray, has black tail, white rump, black underwings, and black-and-white pattern in wings.
  • Rare Black-tailed Godwit has white underwings, black tail, white rump, and black-and-white pattern in wings.