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The Asian dowitcher (''Limnodromus semipalmatus'') is a rare medium-large wader.


Description

Adults have dark legs and a long straight dark bill, somewhat shorter than that of the long-billed dowitcher. The body is brown on top and reddish underneath in breeding
plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
. The tail has a black and white barred pattern. The winter plumage is largely grey. Their breeding habitat is grassy wetlands in inland Siberia and Manchuria. They
migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
to southeast Asia as far south as northern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, although both the breeding and wintering areas are poorly known. This bird is always found on coasts during migration and wintering. These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, mollusks, crustaceans and marine worms, but also eat some plant material.


Closer species

The confusion species for this bird is not, as might be expected, one of the American dowitchers, which in any case do not overlap in range, because the Asian bird is much larger. It closely resembles a small bar-tailed godwit, although the dowitcher "sewing machine" feeding action and the yelping call are distinctions from the more widespread bird.


Further reading

''Shorebirds'' by Hayman, Marchant and Prater,


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1273690 Asian dowitcher Asian dowitcher Birds of Asia Birds of Manchuria Birds of Mongolia Asian dowitcher Asian dowitcher Articles containing video clips