The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related (Thomas et al., 2004). All three are strongly migratory.The two North American species are difficult to separate in most plumages, and were considered a single species for many years. The Asian bird is rare and not well known.