The short-billed dowitcher feeds with a distinctive motion, stitching its long, straight bill rapidly up and down in the mud like a sewing machine. In breeding plumage, it is a warm orange-brown below and heavily spotted, a handsome bird of the shallows.

Dowitchers nest in the muskeg of northern Canada, and pass through Manitoba on migration, mainly along the muddy shores of lakes and marshes. They usually travel in flocks, which settle together to feed and rest. Telling short-billed from long-billed dowitchers can be tricky, even for experts, and the call is one of the best clues: short-billed dowitchers give a soft, quick tu-tu-tu.

I enjoy the sewing-machine feeding style of a short-billed dowitcher, probing the mud over and over with its long bill.

Want to learn more about the short-billed dowitcher and where it lives? Visit its page at All About Birds.

Short-billed dowitcher Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the short-billed dowitcher in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.