The Marbled Godwit is a large, handsome shorebird, warm cinnamon-buff all over with intricate dark barring and mottling, and equipped with a very long, slightly upturned bill that is pinkish at the base and dark toward the tip. Tall and long-legged, it wades in the shallows and probes deep into mud and sand with that long bill, reaching prey buried well below the surface. Its warm coloration and impressive bill make it one of the more striking shorebirds to encounter.
Marbled Godwits breed on the grasslands and wetlands of the northern Great Plains and winter along the coasts, and in Michigan they occur as rare migrants, mostly in spring and fall, appearing on Great Lakes shorelines, beaches, mudflats, and flooded fields, usually singly or in small groups. They probe steadily for invertebrates in the mud and sand. The Marbled Godwit's large size, cinnamon tones, and long upturned bill make a migrant a memorable and easily identified prize for shorebird watchers along the lakes.
Probes deep into mud and sand with its long, upturned bill for aquatic insects, crustaceans, marine and aquatic worms, and mollusks, reaching prey buried well below the surface. It also picks prey from shallow water and takes some plant material such as tubers on the breeding grounds.
Look for a large, warm cinnamon-buff shorebird with a very long, slightly upturned, two-toned bill (pinkish base, dark tip). Its size, warm coloration, and long bill make it distinctive among Michigan shorebirds.
On the grasslands and wetlands of the northern Great Plains, far to the west. It winters along the coasts and passes through Michigan only rarely, on migration.
As a rare migrant, mostly in spring and fall, on Great Lakes shorelines, beaches, mudflats, and flooded fields, usually singly or in small groups. Any Marbled Godwit here is a notable sighting.
Juveniles are plainer and less heavily barred below than breeding adults, with neatly patterned wing coverts. The long two-toned bill with a pink base identifies the species at any age.
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