Here’s a short-billed dowitcher feeding at Étang de la Barrière. Despite its name, it has a very long bill that it uses to probe in mud or sand to find crabs, snails and other small animals to eat. For shorebirds in general, the longer their bill, the more likely they are to feed in this way, using their bill to feel for food. Shorebirds with shorter bills are more likely to spot their food visually and pluck it off the surface of a mudflat or beach.
