Limosa fedoa

Geographic Range

Marbled godwits are found on the shores of the western United States, from the the Gulf of Mexico all the way up to Alaska in the winter months. They migrate to the northern plains of the U.S. and into the boreal forests of Canada in the summer. Isolated populations also breed in Alaska and in southwestern James Bay in Canada.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native

• Other Geographic Terms
• holarctic holarctic

Habitat

Marbled godwits are the most widespread godwit species. They breed in grasslands or wetlands in the northern prairies of the United States and Canada, especially those lacking in dense or tall vegetation. They are also found in temporary ponds, as well as pastures and hay fields. More northern populations are found in wet tundra or open taiga, lowland meadows and bogs, and in coastal marshes. During migration and winter, they are found in wetlands and marshes, shallow ponds, coastal estuaries, mudflats, salt marshes, and sandy beaches.

• Habitat Regions
• saltwater or marine saltwater or marine
• freshwater freshwater

• Terrestrial Biomes
• tundra tundra
• taiga taiga
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• forest forest

• Aquatic Biomes
• lakes and ponds
• temporary pools
• coastal coastal

• Wetlands
• marsh marsh
• bog bog

• Other Habitat Features
• agricultural agricultural
• estuarine estuarine

Physical Description

Marbled godwits are large tawny brown shorebirds with long legs and slightly upturned bills. They have tawny buff feathers which appear darker on top than underneath. Their underwings are mottled brown with cinnamon and are distinctive in flight. In winter, they are plain underneath, but during the breeding season they have dark barring on their breasts and bellies. Legs are gray or blue-gray and beaks are bright pink to orange. Marbled godwits are most similar to bar-tailed godwits ( Limosa lapponica ), which are slightly smaller with shorter legs and lack the bright cinnamon underwing of marbled godwits. They range from 42 to 48 cm and weigh 285 to 454 g. Females are larger than males. Their wingspan ranges from 74 to 78 cm.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• female larger

Reproduction

Marbled godwits arrive at their breeding range in April or May in more southern populations, and form monogamous pairs. To attract a female, the male performs a high, circling flight display, followed by a steep dive. The male selects a nest site in a dry spot with short grass and starts a shallow scrape. If the female approves it, both will add grass, and sometimes a canopy of grass is then arched over the nest.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous
• cooperative breeder cooperative breeder

Marbled godwits breed once per year between May and August. They form loose colonies without obvious territorial boundaries. Nests are constructed on the ground by males and approved by females, usually in an area with short vegetation. Nests are shallow depressions in the ground, lined with grasses and lichen or moss and leaves.

Females almost always lay 4 eggs, and rarely lay 3 or 5. Eggs are pale buff or olive with dark brown or purplish-gray spots or blotches. Both parents incubate the eggs, which are believed to hatch in 24 to 26 days. Parents sometimes join together to mob potential predators to defend young. At birth, precocial young are covered in down, have open eyes, and can walk and attempt to feed at birth. Young marbled godwits leave the nest after 1 to 2 days, and chicks fledge in 26 to 30 days after hatching.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• oviparous oviparous

Both parents incubate the eggs for 24 to 26 days. They protect and tend the young for the first 15 to 26 days, after which the female usually leaves. The male stays with the young until they can fly.

• Parental Investment
• male parental care male parental care
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • protecting
    • male

Lifespan/Longevity

Marbled godwits have a long lifespan. The record for the oldest in the wild was 30 years old.

Behavior

Marbled godwits are mostly terrestrial birds capable of rapid walking and running. They are migratory, and their flight pattern is described as strong, swift, and direct. They are also capable of swimming if foraging in deep water. Most of their daily time budget is dedicated to foraging. Aggressive behavior is infrequent and often associated with breeding season. Marbled are commonly seen in social flocks with whimbrels ( Numenius phaeopus ) and long-billed curlews ( Numenius americanus ) along shorelines searching for food.

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• migratory migratory
• social social

Home Range

Territories are large, and include both feeding and nesting areas. Areas must be large enough to provide both upland habitat and a diverse range of wetland types. Most marbled godwits spend their entire lives within North America.

Communication and Perception

Marbled godwits communicate by calling and physical displays, which are used especially for mate selection and interaction with predators. The call of marbled godwits is nasally, and is described as a slightly crowing or laughing "ah, ha" or "ahk." A specific kind of call is uttered when the individual calling enters a group, and is believed to decrease aggression against the newcomer.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• choruses choruses

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

The diet of marbled godwits varies with the season and location. In winter or on the coast, primary foods include annelid worms ( Polychaeta ), small bivalves ( Bivalvia ), crabs, and earthworms ( Lumbricina ). In summer or while inland, primary foods include insects such as grasshoppers ( Orthoptera ), aquatic plant tubers, leeches, and small fish. Marbled godwits move slowly while feeding, probing for food underneath the mud with their sensitive bill. They often insert their entire bill into the mud, and their head remains totally submerged at times.

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore
  • molluscivore molluscivore
  • vermivore

• Animal Foods
• fish
• insects
• mollusks
• terrestrial worms
• aquatic or marine worms
• aquatic crustaceans

• Plant Foods
• roots and tubers
• seeds, grains, and nuts

Predation

Marbled godwits were targeted by hunters in the 1800’s because they lived in huge flocks which were easy to hunt, and because they are large birds with tasty meat. Today, they are preyed upon by raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and skunks ( Mephitis ) when nesting close to developed areas.

Ecosystem Roles

Marbled godwits are commonly seen in social flocks with whimbrels ( Numenius phaeopus ) and long-billed curlews ( N. americanus ) along shorelines searching for food. They serve as host to several parasites such as avian botulism, caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulineum . Endoparasites include species-specific nematodes ( Skrjabinoclava kristscheri ), and other nematodes common in shorebirds ( Ancyracanthopsis winegardi ). Other nematodes infecting them include Sobolevicephalus lichtenfelsi , Viktoracana limosae , V. capillaris , and Stellocaronema skrjabiniin . Ectoparasites affecting them include mites such as Austromenopon limosae , Actornithophilus limosae , Carduiceps clayae , Lunaceps clayae , Rotundiceps cordatus , Saemundssonia .

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Birding groups and tourism are attracted to marbled godwits. They even have days named after them called the Godwit Days. This is a time for lectures, field trips, boat excursions and workshops all based on marbled godwits.

• Positive Impacts
• food food
• ecotourism ecotourism

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known negative economic impacts caused by marbled godwits.

Conservation Status

Marbled godwits are a species of least concern according to the IUCN Red List, though they are protected under the United States Migratory Bird Act. The Canadian Wildlife Service estimates the population at 171,500 birds. They were common in the 1800s, but were over-hunted in the early 1900s. Protection from hunting has helped the population rebound, but the destruction of grassland breeding habitat now limits the population. Marbled godwits require wetlands for breeding. As wetland ecosystems decline, marbled godwits will begin to migrate to alternate breeding grounds. After they migrate, their original breeding grounds are more difficult to protect as they no longer live in those areas.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

BioKIDS Critter Catalog

Contributors

Brooks Kennedy (author), Minnesota State University, Mankato, Robert Sorensen (editor), Minnesota State University, Mankato, Catherine Kent (editor), Special Projects.

References

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