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Bar-tailed GodwitAlternate name(s): "Bar-rumped Godwit" Size: 37-39 cm; wing span 70-80 cm Weight: 190-400 g (male), 260-630 g (female) |
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Photos |
Race "baueri"
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ADULT |
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BREEDING |
Bar-tailed Godwits have the peculiarity that females tend not to moult pre-migration, while males may (but don't always) moult before leaving. Hence all Bar-tailed Godwits found in Australia around February/March in (near-)breeding plumage will be males.
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MALE |
Near-frontal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage; note
the rather short bill, with a length of about twice the size
of the head
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Nudgee Beach, QLD, February 2018]
Near-frontal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage, front,
with another one in non-breeding plumage behind
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Near-lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage, front,
with another male in non-breeding plumage behind
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Close-up lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage, right,
with a female in non-breeding
plumage
demonstrating why females have the longer "chopsticks"
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, March 2020]
Lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage, left,
with a female in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, March 2020]
Near-dorsal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Dorsal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in near-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, March 2020]
Bar-tailed Godwits, some of which (males; chestnut front) are
moulting into breeding
plumage,
here seen together with two
Great Knots
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]
Bar-tailed Godwits, one of which (male; chestnut front) is
moulting into breeding
plumage,
here seen together with lots of
Curlew Sandpipers and
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Stockton Sand Spit, near Newcastle, NSW, February 2018]
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NON-BREEDING |
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MALE |
Frontal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]
Near-frontal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]
Near-lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Near-lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]
Lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage seen
strutting through shallow water
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]
Lateral view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit, right, together with a
Black-tailed
Godwit, left, both in non-breeding plumage; in the foreground a
number of Great
Knots in transitional and non-breeding plumages can be seen
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]
Near-dorsal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]
Near-dorsal view of a male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Lady Elliot Island, near Agnes Water, QLD, January 2016]
Dorsal view of a snoozing male Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Toorbul wader roost, Brisbane, QLD, January 2018]
This male Bar-tailed Godwit is poking around in the mud,
just under the water's surface
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]
The same male Bar-tailed Godwit again, now seen preening...
... and again the same male Bar-tailed Godwit, now doing something else...
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]
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FEMALE |
Close-up near-frontal view of a female Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage, with another in
the background
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, September 2020]
Close-up lateral view of a female Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage; note the
long bill, with a length of about 2.5-3x the size of the head
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, December 2018]
Lateral view of a female Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage in a
mudflat
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, March 2015]
Female Bar-tailed Godwit displaying very prominently not only its
underwing pattern, but also the characteristic (and name-giving)
barred tail
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, September 2016]
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage digging up
prey in a mudflat
[Inskip Point, QLD, December 2017]
Lateral view of a Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Airlie Beach, QLD, July 2021]
Bar-tailed Godwits in non-breeding
plumage,
together with (smaller)
Grey-tailed Tattlers
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Foreshore, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]
Bar-tailed Godwit in flight
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]
Small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits coming towards the observer...
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]
... then turning away, in the process showing their name-giving
barred tails
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]
Small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits seen by us at an
ephemeral lake
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
Again the characteristic tails of the Bar-tailed Godwits can be seen
in a dorsal view
[Goran Lake, NSW, October 2011]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Near-frontal view of a Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage, right,
with a second, more buff-tinted bird with a visibly shorter bill,
left, that may be a juvenile (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Ronsard Bay, Cervantes, WA, May 2014]
Race "menzbieri"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
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NON-BREEDING |
Lateral view of a Bar-tailed Godwit in comparison with 3
Australian
Pied Oystercatchers
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Esperance, WA, May 2011]
Near-dorsal view of Bar-tailed Godwits in flight; note how the
white bars go well up the back of the birds, which is characteristic
for this race
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2017]
Comparison with Grey-tailed Tattler
A series of photos comparing a Grey-tailed Tattler with a Bar-tailed Godwit is available HERE.
Race "lapponica"
Photos of nominate race "lapponica" were obtained by us in Oman.
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Communal | Mobility: Migratory | Elementary unit: Flock |
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Food, Diet |
Bar-tailed Godwits feed on animals they dig out of the soil in marshes with their long bills, such e.g. molluscs, worms or crabs.
This Bar-tailed Godwit has just caught breakfast, a mud crab
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]
This Bar-tailed Godwit has dug up a mollusc from a mudflat
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, March 2015]
This Bar-tailed Godwit has dug up a worm from a mudflat
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, March 2015]
Bar-tailed Godwit foraging under water, along the edge of a
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]
Bar-tailed Godwit foraging in the sand of a
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, March 2015]
These Bar-tailed Godwits are foraging, not - as one usually observes - at
the water's edge, but ontop of a sand dune
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]
Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage
digging up prey
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, December 2018]
Bar-tailed Godwit in non-breeding
plumage and a big
mud crab - it is part of survival to know when one is too big
to be preyed upon...
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, December 2018]