BirdUp · Species
Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponica(Linnaeus, 1758)
Updated
- Order
- CHARADRIIFORMES
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Limosa
At a glance
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large bird, about 37–39 cm long, listed as Near Threatened and native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 37–39 cm
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened
- Origin
- Native
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a Bar-tailed Godwit look like?
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large bird, about 37–39 cm long and weighing 160–630 g.
The bar-tailed godwit is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, and a long upturned bill. Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinter on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over 29,000 km (18,020 mi).
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a Bar-tailed Godwit?
The Bar-tailed Godwit is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
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- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a Bar-tailed Godwit eat?
The Bar-tailed Godwit feeds on intertidal invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or flocks.
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
6 photos
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