Marbled Godwit

Overview

The Marbled Godwit is a large, long-billed shorebird that breeds primarily on northern prairie grasslands of the north-central United States and Canada, an unusual habitat for a large wader, and migrates to winter on coastal mudflats and estuaries across the Americas. Its warm, cinnamon-toned plumage sets it apart from the grayer or more contrastingly patterned godwits.

Feathers are found both on prairie grassland breeding areas and, more commonly, on coastal mudflats and beaches during migration and winter.

Feather Identification

• Overall tone: warm cinnamon-buff overall, finely barred and mottled with dark brown, giving a marbled appearance that gives the species its name.
• Underwing feathers: bright cinnamon underwing coverts, conspicuous in flight and a useful clue on shed wing feathers.
• Size: notably large, among the biggest feathers likely to be found among regularly occurring shorebirds in its range.
• Nonbreeding versus breeding: breeding adults show slightly more barring on the underparts; nonbreeding birds are somewhat plainer but retain the overall warm cinnamon tone year-round, unlike the more dramatic seasonal shift seen in some godwits.
• Versus other godwits: the warm, uniformly cinnamon-buff tone with fine barring throughout distinguishes Marbled Godwit from the more strongly patterned or grayer plumages of Hudsonian, Black-tailed, or Bar-tailed Godwits.

Plumage Notes

Breeding adults show cinnamon-buff upperparts and underparts with fine dark barring throughout, particularly on the flanks and underparts; sexes look similar, with females averaging slightly larger and longer-billed. Nonbreeding adults are only subtly duller, retaining much of the warm cinnamon tone rather than transforming to gray as seen in some related godwits.

Juveniles resemble adults but show slightly less barring and a cleaner buff wash on the underparts. Molt into nonbreeding plumage is relatively gradual and less dramatic than in species like Hudsonian Godwit.

Habitat & Range

Marbled Godwits breed primarily on native prairie grasslands of the northern Great Plains in the United States and adjacent Canada, with additional isolated breeding populations near Hudson Bay and in Alaska. They migrate to winter on coastal mudflats, estuaries, and beaches along both coasts of the United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Behavior & Field Notes

Marbled Godwits forage by probing deeply into mud or soil with their long, slightly upturned bill, taking invertebrates from both prairie wetlands and coastal mudflats depending on the season. On breeding grounds they nest directly on open grassland rather than near water, an unusual choice among large shorebirds.

Nests are shallow scrapes in short grass. The flight call is a loud, ringing "god-WIT" or "radica" note, from which the group's common name may derive. Feathers can be found both on prairie breeding grounds in summer and coastal wintering and migration sites the rest of the year.