dowitcher

dowitcher, any of three species of shorebirds belonging to the genus Limnodromus, family Scolopacidae. The dowitcher has a chunky appearance and a long bill like a snipe and, in breeding plumage, has reddish underparts, giving rise to the alternative names red-breasted snipe and robin snipe (given also to the knot). It has a white rump and lower back.

Dowitchers flock on mudflats or sandbars; they fly in tight formations and, after landing, pause awhile before spreading out to feed. They nest in bogs from northeastern Siberia to Hudson’s Bay and winter on coasts from the southern U.S. to northern South America. The long-billed dowitcher (L. scolopaceus), about 30 centimetres (12 inches) long including the bill, has a more northwesterly breeding range than the short-billed dowitcher (L. griseus), which is about the same size except for the bill. There is also an Asian species, called the Asiatic dowitcher (L. semipalmatus).