Hudsonian godwit | |
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A non-breeding vagrant at Kogarah Bay, Australia | |
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Male in breeding plumage, Churchill, Canada | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Scolopacidae |
Genus: | Limosa |
Species: | L. haemastica |
Binomial name | |
Limosa haemastica | |
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Synonyms | |
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The Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. It is a long distance migratory species that breeds at remote sites in northern Canada and winters in southern South America. The genus name Limosa is from Latin and means "muddy", from limus, "mud". The specific haemastica is from Ancient Greek and means "bloody".The English term "godwit" is believed to imitate the bird's call.
The Hudsonian godwit was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . He placed it in the genus Scolopax and coined the binomial name Scolopax haemastica. [2] Linnaeus based his entry on the "red-breasted godwit" that had been described and illustrated in 1750 by the English naturalist George Edwards in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards had obtained a specimen that had been collected in the Hudson Bay region of Canada by James Isham, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. [3] Linnaeus specified the type locality as North America but this is restricted to the Hudson Bay following Edwards. [4] The Hudsonian godwit is now one of four species placed in the genus Limosa that was introduced in 1760 by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [5] The genus name Limosa is from Latin and means "muddy", from limus, "mud". The specific epithet haemastica is from Ancient Greek haimatikos meaning "bloody". [6] The English name "godwit" was first recorded in about 1416–17 and is believed to imitate the bird's call. [7]
Adults have long dark legs and a long pink bill with a slight upward curve and dark at the tip. The upper parts are mottled brown and the underparts are chestnut. The tail is black and the rump is white. They show black wing linings in flight. The legs and feet are bluish-grey. [8]
Standard Measurements [8] [9] | |
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length | 14.5–16.7 in (370–420 mm) |
weight | 300 g (11 oz) |
wingspan | 29 in (740 mm) |
wing | 195.5–208.5 mm (7.70–8.21 in) |
tail | 70–83.8 mm (2.76–3.30 in) |
culmen | 68.2–81.2 mm (2.69–3.20 in) |
tarsus | 53.5–59.5 mm (2.11–2.34 in) |
They migrate to South America and the Caribbean. These birds gather at James Bay before fall migration. In good weather, many birds make the trip south without stopping. They are vagrants to Europe, Australia, and South Africa.
They can perhaps be most easily seen in migration on the east coast of North America where they can be plentiful in migration in late July through early August.
Their breeding habitat is the far north near the tree line in northwestern Canada and Alaska, also on the shores of Hudson Bay. They nest on the ground, in a well-concealed location in a marshy area. The female usually lays 4 olive-buff eggs marked with darker splotches. Incubation period is 22 days. [8] Both parents look after the young birds, who find their own food and are able to fly within a month of hatching. [10]
These birds forage by probing in shallow water. They eat invertebrates and plant material. [10]
The species is classified as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [1]
The curlews are a group of nine species of birds in the genus Numenius, characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French corliu, "messenger", from courir , "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre". In Europe, "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew.
The godwits are a group of four large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus Limosa. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock together where food is plentiful. They frequent tidal shorelines, breeding in northern climates in summer and migrating south in winter. A female bar-tailed godwit made a flight of 29,000 km (18,000 mi), flying 11,680 kilometres (7,260 mi) of it without stopping. In 2020 a male bar-tailed godwit flew about 12,200 kilometres (7,600 mi) non-stop in its migration from Alaska to New Zealand, previously a record for avian non-stop flight. In October 2022, a 5 month old, male bar-tailed godwit was tracked from Alaska to Tasmania, a trip that took 11 days, and recorded a non-stop flight of 8,400 miles (13,500 km).
The long-tailed duck or coween, formerly known as the oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of the genus Clangula.
The harlequin duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak.
The bufflehead is a small sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas albeola.
The dunlin is a small wader in the genus Calidris. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots.
The Eurasian or common whimbrel, also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This species and the Hudsonian whimbrel have recently been split, although some taxonomic authorities still consider them to be conspecific.
The greater yellowlegs is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
The lesser yellowlegs is a medium-sized shorebird. It breeds in the boreal forest region of North America.
The short-billed dowitcher, like its congener the long-billed dowitcher, is a medium-sized, stocky, long-billed shorebird in the family Scolopacidae.
The marbled godwit is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit.
The bar-tailed godwit is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, and a long upturned bill. Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinter on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over 29,000 km (18,020 mi).
The black-tailed godwit is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times.
The red-necked phalarope, also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans.
The red phalarope or grey phalarope is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrates mainly on oceanic routes, wintering at sea on tropical oceans.
The parasitic jaeger or Arctic skua (Europe), is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia and winters across the southern hemisphere. Kleptoparasitism is a major source of food for this species during migration and winter, and is where the name is derived from.
The bristle-thighed curlew is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands.
The ornate lorikeet, sometimes named the ornate lory, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to the Sulawesi archipelago in Indonesia. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove and plantations, and is locally common.
In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus described 554 species of bird and gave each a binomial name.