Friday's Foto

The Marbled Godwit, a large shorebird with a long, upturned bill, is the most widespread godwit species. Breeding in grasslands and scattered wetlands within the northern prairies of the United States and Canada, most winter in coastal mudflats and beaches. While their numbers were reduced dramatically in the 1800s due to hunting, conservation laws helped their population recover, although recent declines are related to nesting habitat being converted to farmland. While the IUCN Red List labels Marbled Godwit as a species of "Least Concern" it is nonetheless included on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List, which lists species most in danger of extinction without significant conservation action. This long-lived shorebird has been recorded as living up to 30 years old in the wild. The scientific name, Limosa fedoa, means "muddy godwit".