### animal | vertebrate | bird:

Shorebird
* All shorebirds move between the beaches and marshes for feeding, resting and roosting.
* Many shorebirds are strong flyers
  - feed in the lagoon throughout the year
  - migrate long distances between wintering and breeding habitats
* Most shorebirds are long-legged and graceful
  - consume mollusks
  - drink seawater
  - feed by sense of touch, using their sensitive bills to probe for and gather food
  - has-part beaks
* Most shorebirds have migratory paths
  - inhabit sandy beaches
* Most shorebirds live on beaches
  - possess eggs
  - seek food
  - spend the winter in the warmth of the tropics and subtropics
* Some shorebirds defend beach fronts
* Some shorebirds depend on coastal habitats
  - crabs
* Some shorebirds eat mollusks
  - snails
  - have bills
* Some shorebirds live in colonies
  - make even longer journeys
  - prefer grassland
  - sit in marsh
* adjust their behavior to time of year, weather and the changing tides.
* also migrate southward through Arkansas each fall.
* are a diverse and widespread group of wading birds that are highly migratory.
* are among the most difficult birds to identify
  - photogenic of birds
  - world's greatest migrants
  - an outstanding feature during spring and fall migrations
  - most common during late spring and early fall
  - often difficult to approach and fearful of humans
  - peaceful, serene, and even comical on occasion
  - some of our earliest and most remarkable migrants
  - strong flyers and often cover several hundred miles a day
  - well-adapted for their lifestyle
* can be much more difficult to identify
  - numerous in spring if water levels are suitable
  - serve as a good indicator of the health of a coastal ecosystem
* come in many shapes, sizes, colors and species.
* concentrate in great numbers at their stopover sites.
* continue to move through in small numbers.
* exhibit tremendous variation in mating system, parental care, and breeding biology.
* extract energy from the intertidal zone in the form of marine worms.
* feed mostly on invertebrates found on and in the mudflats.
* harvest the animals of beaches, tideflats, and shallow waters.
* have a more complicated fall migration
  - impact
* includes air sacs
  - bird's feet
  - brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - ears
  - faces
  - flight feathers
  - heads
  - lips
  - mouths
  - nuclei
  - plasma membranes
  - quill feathers
  - rib cages
  - second joints
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - talons
  - vacuoles
  - wishbones
* inhabit beaches
* line the shores, skimming, digging and dipping for food.
* live, nest and feed on or near the shores of oceans and wetlands.
* migrate north.
* migrate over incredible distances, covering vast amounts of land during their travels
  - somewhat later in the spring and earlier in the fall than most waterfowl
* move between the beaches and marshes for feeding, resting, and roosting.
* often concentrate in areas where prey are most abundant or available
  - congregate on exposed mudflats along the edges of the wetlands
* poke their beaks in and out of the sand for food.
* probe the mud for seeds, snails, and worms.
* range in size from a few ounces to a pound or more and come in a variety of colors.
* rely on a mosaic of shallow coastal or freshwater wetlands and adjacent upland areas.
* seen in Hawai'i are all migrants.
* use the mudflats as a food source all year round.
* usually feed on small fish and frogs
  - flock into groups of ten or more

### animal | vertebrate | bird | shorebird:

Godwit
* also have extremely long bills but their bills are bicolored and they are larger.
* have much longer, thinner, upturned bills with a pink base and dark tip.
* includes air sacs
  - cell membranes
  - cytoplasm
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - talons
* migrate annually between Alaska and New Zealand.