Hudsonian Godwit

Overview

The Hudsonian Godwit is a striking, long-billed shorebird known for its remarkable long-distance migrations, with some populations flying nonstop over open ocean for thousands of kilometers between breeding grounds and South American wintering areas. Its breeding plumage is a deep, richly barred chestnut, quite different from the plainer nonbreeding gray.

Feathers are most often found at key migratory staging areas along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, or on wintering grounds in southern South America.

Feather Identification

• Breeding underparts: deep chestnut-red with bold dark barring throughout, one of the most richly colored godwit plumages.
• Underwing feathers: blackish underwing coverts, a distinctive feature visible in flight and a useful clue on shed wing feathers, differing from the paler or cinnamon underwings of other godwits.
• Nonbreeding feathers: plain gray-brown above and pale gray below, a dramatic contrast to the vivid breeding plumage.
• Tail feathers: a black tail with a white base, forming a bold black-and-white pattern in flight.
• Versus other godwits: the combination of black underwing coverts and a black-based-white tail readily separates Hudsonian Godwit from Marbled Godwit's cinnamon underwings and Black-tailed or Bar-tailed Godwit's different wing patterns.

Plumage Notes

Breeding adults show a deep chestnut-red underside with bold, extensive dark barring; females tend to be larger and slightly duller than males. Nonbreeding adults transform to a plain gray-brown above and pale gray below, one of the more dramatic seasonal changes among godwits.

Juveniles show a buffy wash with neatly scaled upperpart feathers, distinct from both the vivid breeding adult and the plainer nonbreeding adult. Molt into nonbreeding plumage occurs largely after long migratory flights are complete, often well into the nonbreeding season.

Habitat & Range

Hudsonian Godwits breed in scattered locations across subarctic tundra and boreal bog habitats in Alaska and Canada, including areas near Hudson Bay. They undertake extraordinary migratory journeys, often flying nonstop over open ocean, to winter primarily in southern South America, including Chile and Argentina.

Behavior & Field Notes

Hudsonian Godwits forage by probing deeply in mud and shallow water for invertebrates, both on breeding tundra and at coastal staging and wintering sites. They are known for concentrating in large numbers at a relatively small number of critical migratory stopover locations.

Nests are shallow scrapes on tundra or bog. The flight call is a sharp, ringing note. Because of the species' reliance on long nonstop flights and a limited number of key staging areas, feathers are often concentrated at these specific stopover sites during migration windows.