Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

(Say, 1822)

Long-billed Dowitcher

G5Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Near threatenedIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100840
Element CodeABNNF16020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNNear threatened
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyScolopacidae
GenusLimnodromus
Other Common Names
Bécassin à long bec (FR) Costurero Pico Largo, Becasina Boreal (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
See Avise and Zink (1988) for information on genetic divergence between L. scolopaceus and L. griseus.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-11-26
Edition Date2014-09-18
Edition AuthorsJue, Dean K.
Range Extent200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
With estimtes ranging from 500,000 to 700,000 on a global level and no concrete evidence of population declines, this species warrants a G5 ranking.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: northeastern Siberia, northwestern and northern Alaska, northern Yukon, and northwestern Mackenzie, east to Franklin Bay, Northwest Territories. WINTERS: from central California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, central Texas, Gulf Coast, and southern Florida south to Guatemala, rarely to Costa Rica, casually to Panama; occasionally in Hawaii.
Occurrences Comments
With a breeding range from western and northern Alaska near the coast over to Siberia and an estimate of over 500,000 individuals for this species, there should be greater than 81 EOs (Takekawa and Warnonck, 2000).
Threat Impact Comments
Degradatioin of wintering habitats may be greatest threat. Also potential loss of breeding habitat due to climate change.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Nonbreeding: marshes, shores of ponds and lakes, mudflats and flooded fields, primarily in freshwater situations (AOU 1983). Nests on the ground in tundra and wet meadows, usually in marshes or grassy areas with scattered shrubs and trees near open fresh water.

Ecology

Little information on home range; in Siberia, nesting pairs remained in an area about 100-300 meters in diameter (Johnsgard 1981).

Reproduction

Breeding begins in late May or early June (Harrison 1978); early nestings in northern Alaska in the first half of June. Clutch size is 4. At first both sexes take turns incubating the eggs; later only the male is involved. Incubation appears to last for 20 days. Precocial young are tended by male.
Terrestrial Habitats
Tundra
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN3B,N4N
ProvinceRankNative
SaskatchewanSUMYes
AlbertaSUMYes
Yukon TerritoryS3B,S4MYes
OntarioS4MYes
ManitobaS3MYes
Northwest TerritoriesSUYes
British ColumbiaS4N,S4MYes
Nova ScotiaSNAYes
QuebecS3MYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
MichiganSNRNYes
WyomingS4NYes
ColoradoS4NYes
LouisianaS5NYes
ArkansasSNAYes
New YorkSNRNYes
OhioSNAYes
New HampshireSNAYes
UtahS2Yes
ConnecticutSNAYes
North CarolinaS2NYes
New JerseyS4NYes
WashingtonS4NYes
OregonSNAYes
MaineSNAYes
KentuckySNAYes
South CarolinaS3NYes
KansasS4NYes
MissouriSNAYes
Rhode IslandS3NYes
AlabamaSNRMYes
DelawareSNAYes
NebraskaSNRNYes
PennsylvaniaSNAYes
Navajo NationS4MYes
HawaiiSNAYes
OklahomaSNRNYes
TennesseeS2NYes
MinnesotaSNRMYes
VirginiaSNRNYes
MississippiS5NYes
IndianaSNAYes
MontanaSNAYes
MarylandSNAYes
ArizonaS3NYes
North DakotaSNAYes
GeorgiaS4Yes
WisconsinSNAYes
FloridaS4NYes
AlaskaS5BYes
New MexicoS4NYes
NevadaS4NYes
IllinoisSNAYes
VermontSNAYes
IowaSNRYes
MassachusettsS3NYes
IdahoS4MYes
CaliforniaSNRNYes
District of ColumbiaS1NYes
South DakotaSNAYes
TexasS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

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Roadless Areas (11)
Alaska (4)
AreaForestAcres
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
Upper SitukTongass National Forest16,789
Yakutat ForelandsTongass National Forest323,648
California (2)
AreaForestAcres
Excelsior (CA)Inyo National Forest45,607
Soldier CanyonInyo National Forest40,589
Montana (4)
AreaForestAcres
Cube Iron - SilcoxLolo National Forest36,998
North AbsarokaCuster National Forest21,063
Selway - Bitterroot (01067)Bitterroot National Forest114,953
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
References (33)
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  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Avise, J. C., and R. M. Zink. 1988. Molecular genetic divergence between avian sibling species: king and clapper rails, long-billed and short-billed dowitchers, boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles, and tufted and black-crested titmice. Auk 105:516-528.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
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  6. Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa. 428 pp.
  7. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
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  30. Takekawa, J.Y. and N. Warnock. 2000. Long-billed Dowitcher (<i>Limnodromus scolopaceus</i>). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, ed.). Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.bnaproxy.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/493/doi:10.2173/bna.493.
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