Bird Album
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
42 cmLength76 cmWingspan288 gWeight
This large wader has a long bill and long legs and feet, with striking black-and-white wing patches in flight.
Busiest months: April and August–September · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal
Looks like Bar-tailed Godwit
How to identify
Field marks
- Black-and-white wing patches and white rump striking in flight
- Bill long and fairly straight; stands taller than Bar-tailed Godwit
- Head, neck and breast orange in the breeding season
- Dark gray-rufous in winter
Male, female and young
Sexes similar; male has brighter and more extensive orange in breeding plumage. Juvenile has a pale orange wash on the neck and breast.
Voice
A grating “weeka weeka weeka”.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Black-tailed Godwit has been recorded at 1,856 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 128 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom7,401 records
- Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,086 records
- Cley & Salthouse Marshes NWT NR – Cley Marshes including Hides and Visitor CentreUnited Kingdom4,472 records
More places
- Frampton Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,448 records
- WWT Slimbridge Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom2,703 records
- L'Albufera PNat – El Raco de l'OllaSpain2,428 records
- Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom2,351 records
- Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal2,326 records
- Paul do Cabo da PraiaPortugal2,301 records
- KaldbakstjarnirIceland2,278 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Black-tailed Godwit?
The Black-tailed Godwit is about 42 cm long, with a wingspan of 76 cm and weighs around 288 g.
Where does the Black-tailed Godwit live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: widespread in subarctic and temperate wet grassland: Iceland, Faroe Islands, British Isles, Scandinavia south to southwestern France, east through northwestern Russia, northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia east to Chukotskiy Peninsula, Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Amurland (eastern Russia) and Inner Mongolia (northeastern China). It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
When is the best time to see the Black-tailed Godwit?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April, August and September (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Black-tailed Godwit endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-tailed Godwit as Near Threatened.
What does the Black-tailed Godwit eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Black-tailed Godwit in?
It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 42 cm
- Wingspan
- 76 cm
- Weight
- 288 g
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
More measurements
- Wing
- 216 mm
- Tail
- 78 mm
- Bill
- 114 mm
- Tarsus
- 78 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: widespread in subarctic and temperate wet grassland: Iceland, Faroe Islands, British Isles, Scandinavia south to southwestern France, east through northwestern Russia, northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia east to Chukotskiy Peninsula, Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Amurland (eastern Russia) and Inner Mongolia (northeastern China)
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Limosa limosa bohaii Russian Far East (presumptively) | non-breeding: ne China, Hong Kong (China), Vietnam and Malay Pen.
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Sandpipers, Snipes Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Limosa
Other birds in the genus Limosa
Bar-tailed GodwitLimosa lapponica
Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemastica
Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
Bristle-thighed CurlewNumenius tahitiensis
Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
Hudsonian WhimbrelNumenius hudsonicus
Little CurlewNumenius minutus
Eskimo CurlewNumenius borealis
Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Andreas Trepte. ↗
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