Dowitchers in Gujarat, India

An American dowitcher

We saw an American Dowitcher at Khijadiya sanctuary, Jamnagar, Gujarat India on 13 December 2008. We did not hear the call and could not positively identify the bird as to species in the field.

Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus should be much more likely in India than Short-billed L.griseus. There are records from Oman, for example, and the species is regular in Hong Kong. According to Rasmussen & Anderton 2005 there are two records of Long-billed in India.

Asian Dowitcher

There was also an Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus at the same pool. The species is rare in that part of India. The following three photos show that individual.