March ] SMITH, Asiatic Dowitcher 111 1974

Cairns region. Yet in the south-west Coral Sea, breeding occurs extensively on the grass and tree covered cays, the closest to Cairns being that of North-East Cay, in the Herald Group, some 400 km to the east. This island supports dense patches of Pisonia trees, the species' favourite nesting sites. However, on September 27, 1960, and only about 250 km east, north-east of Cairns, the species was sighted on Holmes Reef, though breeding was not observed (Hindwood foe. cit.). Again, it would seem likely that the White-capped Noddies we saw at both Green Island and Michaelmas Cay, were "blown in" by the cyclonic weather conditions of the time. Apart from the south­ west Coral Sea, the species is known to breed in the Torres Strait, to the north of our region, and in the Capricorns, to the south. Consider­ ing that both of these areas are equally about 1,000 km either side of Cairns, it would seem more plausible to assume that our colonized the area from the east. REFERENCES Cooper, Roy P., 1948. "Birds of the Capricorns- Great Barrier Reef", Emu 48: 107-126. Gill, H. B., 1970. "Birds of Innisfail and Hinterland", Emu, 10: 111. Hindwood, K. A., K. Krith, and D. L. Serventy, 1963. "Birds of the South-West Coral Sea", Division of Wildlife R esearch Technical Paper No.3, CSIRO. Hogan, J., 1921. " Notes from Willis Island", Emu, 24: 266-275. Serventy, D. L., V. Serventy and J. Warham, 1971. The Handbook of Australian Sea-Birds. Reed. Wheeler, W. R., 1967. "Birds of Cairns, Cooktown and the Atherton Tablelands", Australian Bird W ate her, 3: 55-76. White, S. R., 1946. "Notes on the Birdlife of Australia's Heaviest Rainwall Region", Emu, 46: 81-122.

A Victorian Record of the Asiatic Dowitcher By FRED. T. H. SMITH, Kew, Victoria. SUMMARY The second Australian and first Victorian record of the Asiatic Dowitcher, Limnodromus semipalmatus, is reported, with field-notes on its habits and a detailed description of plumage and soft parts. Photographs enlarged from 35 mm colour transparencies are pro­ vided. Comparison between the Asiatic Dowitcher and the two North American species is made. Some supporting notes are also given from the literature, with brief comments on , breed­ ing and non-breeding range, and origin of the appellation dowitcher. GENERAL The first record of the Asiatic Dowitcher in Australia was of one shot at Frances Bay, Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, on October 16, 1971. The collector, D. N. Crawford, wrote to me seek­ ing more information on the species than was available to him at that time, and I was able to supply him with some notes on descrip- SMITH, Asiatic Dowitcher [ Bird Watcher

tion taken primarily from Birds of the Soviet Union (Dementev and Gladkov, 1951). In the course of locating references on the Asiatic Dowitcher, I learned more of the field identification aspects of that species, and also of the two other species that are largely confined to North America; the Short-billed Dowitcher, L. griseus, and the Long-billed Dowitcher, L. scolopaceus. I had previously made myself familiar, from text books and other pertinent literature, with the field recog­ nition characteristics of the three world species of Limnodromus, as I may chance to see one in this country during a field outing among the . After the Darwin record it appeared that, as is often the case, another bird may eventually be found in this country, but I did not imagine that I was to observe one in the south of Australia a little less than 15 months later. On January 7, 1973, with five other observers- M. J. Drakeley (from England), Robert Elvish, Robert Swindley, Rod Sympson and Peder Weibull (from Sweden), I was at the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Farm, Werribee, at a point approxi­ mately 45 km south-west of Melbourne, Victoria. An area known by local bird-watchers as "The Spit", although marked on official maps as "The Island", was visited. It is a long narrow spit of mud and sand, about 1 km long, covered in places with low salt-vegetation, extending from the shore into westernmost Port Phillip Bay, and curving westward to run parallel with the shore-line, and enclosed a wide, shallow, muddy, saline lagoon. The spit is a favoured locality for large numbers and diversity of bird-life. At the time of our visit it was teeming with small migratory waders, comprised largely of Sharp-tailed , acuminata, -Sandpiper, C. ferruginea, and Red-necked Stint, C. ruficollis, with several larger species in much smaller numbers. At approximately I p.m. a large with a very long, straight bill was noticed standing about 30 m away, on wet sand near the water's edge, with a few Eastern (Lesser) Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica fulva. The long-billed bird was holding a semi-alert stance with its neck not quite fully extended vertically. It closely resembled a Bar-tailed , Limosa lapponica, and would most likely have been mistaken for that species from a few metres further away. How­ ever, the long straight bill was completely black to the gape, with no suggestion of the pinkish basal section, or slight upcurve, that is so apparent in the Bar-tailed Godwit. It was then recognized, from the earlier knowledge gained from literature, as a dowitcher. Leg colour, which was well seen in good light, was noted to be dark grey or black. No one detected a light hue or colour, other than blackish, in the legs. The very dark legs suggested the Asiatic Dowitcher as opposed to the lighter hued legs of the Short-billed and Long-billed species. In the ensuing one and a half hours that the bird was under surveillance, we were able to check leg and bill colour several times from close range. Asiatic Dowitcher at Werribee, Victoria, 7/1 / 1973.

Plate 23 Photo by M . J. Drakeley

Two members of the party had 35 mm cameras with telephoto lens. Drakeley had a 15 x 60 spottingscope that was adapted for use with his camera, and Weibull used a follow-focus 400 mm telephoto lens with his camera. Both had been taking photographs as we were observing birds generally. When it was realized that we had dis­ covered the second Australian record of the Asiatic Dowitcher, both photographers concentrated on this species. Consequently, they obtained several colour transparencies of the bird, and Weibull also exposed some black and white film. We soon found that the dowitcher was not particularly timid and would allow a close approach, often remaining behind after other wader species with it had flown as we moved closer. It did make a few short flights, however, during which we were able to note that, although the upper parts were largely dark, there was a noticeable paler shade over the upper tail, upper tail coverts, rump and lower back, and also across the upper rear surface of the wing covering the inner primaries and all the secondaries. The pale area was strongly and regularly barred with dark brown or blackish, being particularly apparent from the tip of the tail to and including the lower back. No area of clear white was seen on the back of the bird, which was in complete non-breeding plumage, and this further set it apart from the Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, which both show clear white on the back, and on the rear edge of the secondaries, in non-breeding plumage. . We studied the bird in great detail from a distance which was often as close as 15 m, and occasionally closer. Optical instruments used included 8 x 30, 10 x 50, and 15 x 50 binoculars, and the 15 x 60 spottingscope already referred to, which was mounted on a steady tripod. The bird frequently fed in 50 mm to 100 mm of water, often with the under parts immersed, within a metre of the shoreline. Some- 114 SMITH, Asiatic Dowitcher [ Bird Watcher

times its head and neck were submerged for several seconds as it probed the soft mud below. A few times it was seen ashore on soft wet mud and sand, that was heavily studded with marine bivalve shells, where it pushed its long bill to the full length into the mud, and moved it rapidly straight up and down. Occasionally, when the bill was withdrawn from the mud it was noted to be holding, near the tip, in most cases a small, thin, reddish marine worm, some of which appeared to be close to 100 mm long. These were quickly swallowed and the peculiar vertical bill pumping resumed instantly. When feeding out of the water it moved about unhurriedly, but was capable of walking rapidly at times, most often when a little disturbed by our nearness. When standing in a relaxed posture the neck was drawn right into the body, with the bill pointed slightly downward, giving it a rather dumpy appearance. Usually it was seen on the semi-alert with the neck partly extended upward, and bill pointed slightly downward ; but when completely alert the bird stood more upright with the neck fully extended vertically, giving it an un­ expected long slim look, and the bill held horizontally. Sometimes the dowitcher relaxed from the fully alert posture, but often it was the prelude to a short flight. Similarly, sometimes in flight, particularly soon after take-off or just before alighting, it would hold its extended neck at an angle somewhere between horizontal and vertical and above the level of the semi-downcurved wings; giving it the elegance of the Greenshank, nebularia, or Grey-tailed Tattler, T. brevipe:s, in the same attitude. In normal flight the head was drawn back to the body, the wings seemed long, and most of the length of the toes showed beyond the tail-tip. Usually the flight seemed rather godwit-like and occasionally swift and somewhat erratic. Once it was noticed flying over the lagoon with other waders, when suddenly fast direct flight gave place to very erratic dodging about, during which it rose rapidly and appeared to complete an aerial loop before dropping down, still in wild flight, to alight a long way from our position. In contrast to that type of flight, on one or two occasions, it was seen flying relatively sedately with slower wing flaps, reminiscent of the Australian Spur-winger Plover, Vanellu:s novaehollandiae. Throughout the period of observation the dowitcher fed near and with several other wader species, which allowed us to obtain size comparisons. There seemed to be no particular preference for feeding companions, whether they were the diminutive Red-necked Stint or the somewhat larger Bar-tailed Godwit. Compared with the Eastern (Lesser) Golden Plover it was larger in body size, longer necked on the alert, and had longer legs. With the Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, it was slightly less in body size, longer necked on the alert, and longer legged, and with the Green­ shank it was about the same body size, perhaps a trifle smaller, legs a little shorter, longer necked on the alert, and with a considerably longer and thicker, straight bill. Asiatic Dowitcher with Red-necked Stints, Werribee, Victoria, 7/1 /1973.

Plate 24 Photo by M. J . Drakeley

Our final detailed observation of the dowitcher was made as it fed in about 50 mm of water, at the lagoon, in company with five or six Bar-tailed . It appeared that both sexes of the godwit were present, judging by the variation in body sizes and bill lengths. The female Bar-tailed Godwit is a little larger than the male and has a longer bill. The dowitcher was greyer in general tone and somewhat smaller and slimmer than the smallest godwit, which was assumed to be a male. Bill length seemed about the same as that of the small godwit, but the legs of the dowitcher were shorter. DESCRIPTION FROM FIELD OBSERVATION General appearance. Appeared to be in complete non-breeding plumage. At rest, side view, the wing-tips seemed to terminate with the tail-tip, but photographs suggest that the wing-tips exceed the tail-tip by a few millimetres. Approximately the size of a Green­ shank, but legs shorter and bill noticeably longer and thicker. Similar to male Bar-tailed Godwit, but smaller in bulk although the all-dark, straight bill seemed about the same length. Upper parts. Forehead, crown and back of neck dark grey-brown with some paler flecking. Mantle and upper back dark grey-brown with pale feather edging. Upper wing-covert feathers large, although lesser covert feathers noticeably smaller, dark grey-brown broadly margined pale buff. Primaries dark brown or blackish except for the pale shade on the inner feathers. Upper tail, upper tail-coverts, rump and lower back appeared light grey and therefore noticeably paler than rest of the upper parts, but for the rear part of the wing, well barred with dark brown or blackish overall. No clear white on back and secondaries as in other Limnodromus. A broad pale area across the dorsal rear section of the wing extended from the inner second­ aries to the inner primaries and was widest where the secondaries and primaries met. In flight, as the bird receded into the distance, the pale areas of the upper parts contrasted more strongly with the dark 116 SMITH [ Bird Watcher areas than was the case at close range. The well defined off-white supercilium extended from the forehead, where it was widest, to well past the eye, where it narrowed a little. Lores dark brown, broad at base of bill and narrower in front of the eye. Under parts. Chin, throat and face whitish. Sides of neck whitish with short dark vertical streaking, which fanned out in the region of the ear-coverts. Foreneck and sides of breast whitish generally, with short dark vertical streaking, which became more of a semi-barring across the breast. Lower breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts whitish with some sparsely distributed dark spotting of the under tail-coverts. Sides with a few well spaced short dark vertical stripes. Flank and sides of rump area marked with some dark vertically elongated spotting, which were closer together than the side stripes. Eye. Dark brown with a thin pale orbital ring. Bill. Black for whole length. Very long and snipelike generally. Seemed about twice head length. Straight laterally with only a slight taper from base to tip giving it an overall thick or sturdy look. In dorsal aspect a slight swelling toward the tip. Legs. Dark grey or blackish. Toes appeared disproportionately short with a little basal webbing, which was noted at close range with aid of binoculars and spottingscope. Hind toe thin and well defined. Call. Not heard. GENERAL The few references immediately available to the writer stress that the Asiatic Dowitcher bears a strong resemblance to the Bar-tailed Godwit. Dementev and Gladkov (1951) who also know it as Asiatic Snipelike Godwit and -billed Godwit, mentions that aspect no less than four times, as follows: "Distribution: due to great simi· larity in external appearance to small (bar-tailed) godwit, this bird long remained unnoticed by observers, and in a number of collections stuffed specimens were kept under the names of other birds". "Numerical status: Not a numerous bird, but encountered, it must be supposed, more frequently than would appear from literary sources- confusion with small (bar-tailed) godwit is most likely". "Field marks: In nature hardly distinguishable from small (bar­ tailed) godwit". "Description: Size and structure. Shorebird of medium size. Despite general similarity to small godwit differs mark­ edly in snipelike bill. Bill and legs black". Ali and Dillon Ripley (1969) state under "Field characters-A rare large-sized wader similar to Godwit but with conspicuously slenderer, longer bill, somewhat swollen towards tip. Colour of bare parts- Iris dark brown. Bill black, paler and plumbeous at base. Legs and feet dark plumbeous or brownish black". Curiously, of the many references consulted in regard to the Short­ billed and Long-billed Dowitchers not one suggested resemblance of those two species to Limosa. Consequently this may be of significance in separating them from the Asiatic bird in the field. From text and illustrations it appears thaat the bill in both griseus and scolopaceus is less robust generally than in semipalmatus and is noticeably paler, March Victorian Record of Asiatic Dowitcher 117 1974 ] particularly in the basal area. At all times the leg colour of semi­ palmatus appears to be much darker than in either griseus or scolopaceus and for this reason seems of diagnostic value for field identification purposes. While leg colour in the Asiatic Dowitcher is usually stated to be black, dark grey or dark brown, in the two North American species it is said to be "yellowish-green, light grey-green, dull greenish-grey and greenish". Although one reference in The Handbook of British Birds states "legs and feet greenish-black" for the American dowitchers. We have mentioned earlier that we were unable to detect any colour other than dark grey or black in the bird described here, when closely scrutinized for leg colour in sunlight. Apart from its larger size, admitted similarity to the Bar-tailed Godwit, and bare parts features, the Asiatic Dowitcher appears to differ in non-breeding plumage from the Short-billed and Long-billed species also by its darker hued, more strongly marked upper parts, and its otherwise pale, heavily barred upper tail, upper tail-coverts, rump and lower back, and no area of clear white on the lower back and across the rear edge of the upper surface of the secondaries. It seems apparent from literature that the field observer, with beforehand knowledge, would have greater difficulty in separating the Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers from each other, than he would separating the Asiatic Dowitcher from both. BRIEF TAXONOMY In earlier years it was considered that the Asiatic Dowitcher was conspecific with L. griseus, and it appears that some modern taxono­ mists still adhere to that line of thought. F. A. Pitelka (1961) wrote that it "is similar to the American Dowitchers and also shows resemblances to the true godwits (Limosa) but is doubtfully connected with either". At that time he consigned it to "a monotypic Pseudoscolopax". DERIVATION OF THE VERNACULAR NAME It is uncertain how the name of dowitcher came into existence. There are several interesting suggestions in the literature. The one that appeals most to the writer is that in the days when the shorebirds were heavily gunned in North America, the dowitchers were some­ times called, among a variety of other popular names, German Snipe or Deutscher by shooters. Conceivably, through common usage, Deutscher could have been corrupted to dowitcher, which has stabilized as the accepted common name. BREEDING AND NON-BREEDING RANGE The Asiatic Dowitcher is known to breed in well separated colonies, mainly in Siberia, Mongolia and Manchuria, although the entire breeding range is not fully defined at present. Outside of the breeding season the species is known to migrate to north-east India, southern Bangladesh, Burma and southern Asia to Indonesia. It has been noticed as far west as Aden (Paige, 1965), and as far east as Japan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Robert Swindley for his diligence in locating most 118 SMITH, Asiatic Dowitcher [ Bird Watcher

of the information on the Asiatic Dowitcher; to photographer/ naturalists John Drakely and Peder Weibull, as the results of their photography gives more credence to the observation than mere words. Also to Rod Sympson and Robert Elvish for observations on field description and habits. REFERENCES Ali, S., & S. Dillon Ripley, 1969. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, 2:277. Bannerman, D. A., & G. E. Lodge, 1961. The Birds of the British Isles, 9:158-165. Bent, A. C., 1927. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 : 106-122. Bruun, B., & A. Singer, 1971. The Hamlyn Guide to Bi,rds of Britain and Europe, 126-127. Crawford, D. N., 1972. "First Australian Record of the Asiatic Dowitcher", Emu, 72:112-113. Dementev, G. P., & N. A. Gladkov, 1951. Birds of the Soviet Union (Engl. trans.), 3:216-220. Dresser, H. E., 1909. "On the Occurrence of Pseudoscolopax taczan­ owskii in Western Siberia", The Ibis, 3: Ninth Series, 418-421. Gilbert-Pearson, T., 1936. Birds of America, 229-230. Glenister, A. G., 1951. The Birds of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Penang, 132. Hall, H . M., 1960. A Gathering of Shore Birds, 166-173. Heinzel, H., et al., 1972. The Birds of Britain and Europe, 137. Hollom, P. A. D., 1962. The Popular Handbook of British Birds: 214-216. ICP Magazines, 1969. Birds of the World, 3: 900-902. Nisbet, I. C. T., 1961. " Dowitchers in Great Britain and Ireland", British Birds, 54: 343-357. Paige, J. P., 1965. "Field Identification and Winter Range of the Asiatic Dowitcher", The Ibis, 107:95-97. Peters, H. S., & T. D. Burleigh, 1951. The Birds of Newfoundland, 206-207. Peterson, R. T., 1961. A Field Guide to Western Birds, 117. Peterson, R. T., 1962. A Field Guide to the Birds, 97-100. Peterson, R. T., 1966. A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, 134-135. Pitelka, F. A., 1948. "The Problematical Relationship of the Asiatic Shorebird Limnodromus semipalmatus", The Condor, 50:259. Pitelka, F. A., 1961. "Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitcher speci- mens in the British Museum". British Birds, 54:340-342. Pough, R. H ., 1951. Audubon Water Bird Guide, 241 -242. Pough, R. H ., 1957. Audubon W estern Bird Guide, 96-97. Robbins, C. S. 1966. A Guide to Field Identification. Birds of North America, 112-119. Seebohm, H., 1888. The Geographical Distribution of the Charad­ riidae, 194-400. Stout, G. D., et al., 1967. The Shorebirds of North America, 243-246. Wither by, H. F., eta!., 1948, The Handbook of British Birds, 4:209.