Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Non-breeding adult. Photo: DaveInman/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND-2.0)
Hudsonian Godwit
Limosa haemastica
| Conservation status | Numbers were seriously depleted in late 19th century by unrestricted shooting. Current population not large but probably stable. |
|---|---|
| Family | Sandpipers |
| Habitat | Marshes, prairie pools, mudflats; edge of tundra in summer. Spring migrants are usually on shallow marshy lakes, flooded pastures, rice fields, mudflats around ponds. Fall migrants on Atlantic Coast may be on marshy ponds or tidal flats. Nesting habitat in far north is near treeline, where patches of tundra, open woods, and ponds are mixed. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly by walking in shallow water, probing with bill in mud of bottom. Often wades so deeply that head is underwater part of the time.
Eggs
4, rarely 3. Dark olive-brown, with rather obscure brown blotches. Incubation is by both sexes, about 22-25 days. Young: Downy young leave nest soon after hatching. Young find all their own food, but are tended by both parents. Adults are very aggressive in defense of young. Young are able to fly at about 30 days.
Young
Downy young leave nest soon after hatching. Young find all their own food, but are tended by both parents. Adults are very aggressive in defense of young. Young are able to fly at about 30 days.
Diet
Insects, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms. Diet not well known. On breeding grounds, may feed mostly on insects, including many flies and their larvae. During migration, may feed on marine worms, mollusks, and crustaceans on coast, mostly insects inland.
Nesting
In display over nesting territory, male flies high, calling; at peak of display, he glides with wings in shallow "V" while calling intensely for up to a minute or more, then dives toward ground. Male often perches on treetop; in courtship, pursues female in flight. Nest site is on ground in sedge marsh, usually on top of hummock under prostrate dwarf shrub, sometimes in tussock of grass. Very well concealed, extremely hard to find. Nest is shallow depression in vegetation, with sparse lining of leaves.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
A loud kerreck or god-wit call, similar to call of Marbled Godwit but higher pitched. Usually silent.How Climate Change Will Reshape the Range of the Hudsonian Godwit
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Climate Threats Near You
Climate threats facing the Hudsonian Godwit
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Hudsonian Godwit In the News More News
Migratory Bird Initiative
It Takes A Hemisphere To Protect A Godwit
As we celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, let’s remember the international cooperation needed to protect birds throughout their full annual cycle, year after year.
Coasts
A New Sanctuary in Chile Will Protect the Red Knot’s Winter Home
Important Bird Area Bahía Lomas is now a protected nature sanctuary.
Conservation
How Young Chileans Are Saving the Hudsonian Godwit
As fishing, logging, and wind farms take over the island of Chiloé, the shorebird is on the brink of losing its wintering grounds. Now locals are coming to the rescue.
