Long-billed Dowitcher

[James Salywoda]

Long-billed Dowitcher
SoCal

Taken a few days ago as I like the wing position captured on this little bird.


Nikon D300s AFS 600 F4

1/1600 F6.3 ISO 400

Thanks For looking

Jim

[Desmond Chan]

I like the wing position captured on this little bird.

Same here.

Like the sharpness and the color of the water. Did you take that in the morning?

[David Fletcher]

Good one Jim. Good light on it too. Nicely done.

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

Very cool and very rare flight image in this quality.
Well done. Perfect wing position and light. A nominee for my book ;)

Szimi

[denise ippolito]

James, Just beautiful! I love the wing positions also and the details are great. Well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Love the underwing detail. The bird's bill could have used a bath, but heck, they are dowitchers. Did you hear this bird call? If not, what was the basis of the ID?

[Harshad Barve]

lovely image with great underwing details and pose , lovely compo as well
TFS

[Gerrie van Vuuren]

Ditto wing position. Lovely wing detail & light.

[Stu Bowie]

James, the Dowitcher pops from the BG so well. Lovely light and detail, and love the colour of the water. Well captured.

[James Salywoda]

Love the underwing detail. The bird's bill could have used a bath, but heck, they are dowitchers. Did you hear this bird call? If not, what was the basis of the ID?

Thanks all for comments as far as ID goes I really wasn't a 100% sure but I thought it was a
Long-billed Dowitcher.

I confirmed it with Szimi and the barred tail feathers were the markings that helped verify it as a Long- billed Dowitcher.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for comments as far as ID goes I really wasn't a 100% sure but I thought it was a Long-billed Dowitcher. I confirmed it with Szimi and the barred tail feathers were the markings that helped verify it as a Long- billed Dowitcher.

Thanks James for getting back to me. Separating long-billed from short-billed dow in non-breeding or winter plumage by plumage characteristics alone is difficult for all but the most skilled field observers. Both species have barred tail feathers; it is the differences in the width of the blacks as compared to the width of the whites that indicates one species of the other. But those differences can be most difficult to discern either in the field or in a photograph. I was surprised that I found no mention of the differences in tail-barring in "The Shorebird Guide" (O'Brien, Crossley, and Karlson).

There is much overlap in bill length in the two species with the short bills of male short-billeds and the huge pig-stickers of female long-billeds making ID on bill length easy at times.

The best bet for in the field ID of these two (who differ greatly in the timing of migration and plumage sequences varies greatly) is best done by voice. Listen for the sharp single keeek or as described in the above-mentioned book, peeep. Shore-billeds call is a rolling, whistled three-noted affair that might be described as koo tu-tu.

I would not want to ID this bird based on the bill (though some might be able to do so) but the smooth gray throat and the seemingly heavy barring on the flanks, and yes, the tail barring with the whites and blacks equal in width would seem to indicate long-billed.

More on the tail-barring from "Shorebirds" by Hayman, Marchant, and Prater: non-breeding short-billed may lack barring on the tail. In long-billed, the width of the dark bars on the tail is equal to or (usually) greater than the width of the white bars. In short billeds, the width of the white bars is equal to or (usually) greater than the width of the dark bars.

Last complication: though I cannot tell from this image, there is a chance that the bird is a juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher (rather than a non-breeding/winter plumage adult of either species....)

It is always best to get the ID from the calls. :) I am copying this thread to the Avian ID Forum.

[Arthur Morris]

James, please let us know exactly where you created this image.

[James Salywoda]

James, please let us know exactly where you created this image.

Artie I responded to your question in the ID forum with a picture Attachment.;)