134 
Throughout most of the prairies in spring and early summer the 
hollow, rapidly repeated, dull whistle of its love flight can be heard at all 
times of the day, while its author circles about so high as to be scarcely 
discernible with the naked eye. 
231. Dowitcher (Including Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers). red- 
breasted snipe. robin snipe. Limnodromus griseus. L, 10-50. Spring adult : throat, 
breast, and all underparts strongly brick-red. Back and upperparts, dark brown with 
feather edges of various shades of reddish ochre. Tail and rump finely barred with black and 
white. Tail feathers tinged with reddish at tip and dark bars disappearing on lower back. 
Autumn plumage — dull grey on back, more or less interspersed with brown and ruddy 
ochre of summer plumage. Head, neck, breast, and flanks, lighter grey. Chin lighter than 
breast or face. Autumn adults often show the summer red-breasted plumage, but worn, 
faded, and interspersed with grey. 
Figure 159 
Bills of Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers; 
natural size. 
Distinctions . Because of great length of bill (2-15-3-0) to be mistaken only for 
Wilson’s Snipe. In spring, the red underparts make the Dowitcher unmistakable for that 
species, and m autumn the even grey breast, the lack of definite colour pattern on the back, 
and the pure white lower back barred with black on rump and tail are distinctive. In spring, 
the Knot has a similar red breast, but the bill is much shorter, scarcely over 1-50 (compare 
Figure 159 with 161). 
In the autumn the Wandering Tattler (to be met with only on the west coast) has a grey 
appearance similar to the Dowitcher at that season, but is a clearer ashy grey; the bill is 
much shorter and the rump and tail are the same colour as the back. 
Field Marks. About the same size, general outline, and length of bill as Wilson’s 
Snipe, but with white lower back. Generally found on bare mud flats where the latter is 
seldom found. Rarely seen in grassy meadows. 
Nesting. On the ground. 
Distribution. North and South America, breeding in the Arctic. Migrating along 
the coast and the inferior, throughout Canada. 
SUBSPECIES. The American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list recognizes two 
subspecies: the Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus griseus , an Atlantic coast 
race, and the Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus scolopaceus, a western one. 
These races are differentiated mostly by the length of the bill (Figure 159), but the eastern 
race is recognized in migration throughout the west. Specimens from the prairies to the 
Pacific coast show such a mixture of bill lengths that serious doubts are justified as to the 
existence of the two races, especially aB no evidence of separation of breeding areas has yet 
been produced. 
