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8

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) Size: 36-44 cm; wing span 70-82 cm Weight: 280 g (male), 340 g (female) averages; range: 150-500 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black-tailed Godwits are medium-sized waders. When seen in Australia, Black-tailed Godwits are usually in eclipse plumage, which is highly cryptic. Except for short light-grey eyebrows and a small throat patch, the rest of the head, neck and chest is plain grey with a brownish tinge. The belly, vent and undertail coverts are light-grey to off-white. The back and wings are dark brownish-grey, with somewhat lighter brownish-grey edge lining. The uppertail is black. In flight they show nearly white underwings with a prominent black fringe. On the upperwing they have conspicuous, broad wing bars. During the breeding season most of the head, neck and chest is russet. The eyes have dark irises. Black-tailed Godwits have a long, dark grey-tipped pinkish, straight bill that is about twice as long as the size of the head. The long legs and the feet are dark-grey. Twitcher's tip Compared with Bar-tailed Godwits, they have less colour contrast in their non-breeding plumage. During the breeding season their belly is much lighter than the front and the head. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

Taxonomy, classification See Black-tailed Godwit at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black-tailed Godwit is available HERE . There are 3 races of Black-tailed Godwits, which are a strongly migratory species. Race "islandica" breeds in Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Shetland and the Lofoten Islands. Race "limosa", which is also called the "European Black-tailed Godwit", breeds in parts of southern Scandinavia, most of central, eastern and south-eastern Europe and eastward into central Asia, up to the Yenisei River. Race "melanuroides", the "Asian Black-tailed Godwit", breeds in Mongolia, northern China, Siberia and far-eastern Russia. They spend the northern winters in various parts of the world. Much of the European population will stay in western Ireland, western Iberia, around the Mediterranean or in sub-Saharan Africa or the East African highlands. Others will winter on the South coast of the Caspian Sea, the coastal fringe of Arabia, or parts of northern India. The East Asian population overwinters in parts of south-eastern Asia or Australia. There are only small areas where they stay permanently, mostly in southern England. In Australia only Black-tailed Godwits, race "melanuroides", are found. They usually populate the coastal fringe on both the West and East of the continent; in the West down to the south-western tip, in the East to about Eyre peninsula, SA. In the South they can be found along the lower Murray River. Occasionally, after significant rainfall, they venture into other parts of the Australian continent, including the semi-arid interior, bascially anywhere but the major sandy deserts of eastern WA, the south-western NT and western SA. Black-tailed Godwits have a preference for sandbanks and also intertidal wetlands, including mudflats, but they may also be found around fresh water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "melanuroides" Various contributors report finding Black-tailed Godwits, race "melanuroides", in various locations in and around Darwin, NT, in the months of October-March, outside their breeding season in the northern hemisphere. They have been seen in flocks of up to about 100. M. Eaton found a Black-tailed Godwit, race "melanuroides", at Lake Clarendon, QLD, in October 2018. Race "limosa" Black-tailed Godwits, nominate race "limosa", were found by us in Europe.

Photos

Race "melanuroides"

This race is also called the "Asian Black-tailed Godwit".

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a Black-tailed Godwit in non-breeding plumage foraging in a settlement pond (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Sewage Treatment Plant, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Lateral view of a Black-tailed Godwit, left, together with a Bar-tailed Godwit, right, 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]

Black-tailed Godwits in non-breeding plumage with Great Knots in the background (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Lateral view of Black-tailed Godwits in non-breeding plumage taking off (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Lateral view of Black-tailed Godwits in non-breeding plumage in low flight - note the clearly visible black tails
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Lateral view of Black-tailed Godwits in non-breeding plumage in low flight - note the clearly visible black tails
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, October 2018]

Lateral view of a Black-tailed Godwit in-flight, together with two Radjah Shelducks (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-dorsal view oBlack-tailed Godwits in flight, together with a number of Great Knots, all in non-breeding plumage; the Black-tailed Godwits are the birds with the prominent white underwings, white wing bars, white rump and black tail
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Buffalo Creek Beach, Darwin, NT, January 2016]

Race "limosa"

Photos of Black-tailed Godwits, nominate race "limosa", were taken in Europe.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bltgodw_dw_20190414.m4a	limosa (Poland)	Contact calls(?)	© DW
bltgodw_jp_20200117.m4a	limosa (Portugal)	? (large flock)	© JP

More Black-tailed Godwit sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 25 March 2020, 2:07 +00:00