Long-billed Dowitcher

Identification

Plump, medium-sized shorebird with very long bill. Extremely similar to Short-billed Dowitcher, and often flocks with it. Best distinguished by voice: a sharp, high-pitched “keek!” note, sometimes given in a series, unlike lower-pitched “tu-tu-tu” call of Short-billed. 

Confusing Species

Asian Dowitcher (black legs)

Short-billed Dowitcher

Distribution

Vagrant to Australia.

Migratory habits

Migrates to southern USA and Central America.

Breeding

Breeds in Alaska and northern Canada.

References

1. Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
2. eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available:  http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
3. Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
4. Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
5. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/
6. Takekawa, J. Y. and N. Warnock (2020). Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.lobdow.01