BirdUp · Species
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa(Linnaeus, 1758)
EndangeredNative
- Order
- CHARADRIIFORMES
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Limosa
- Conservation
- Endangered
- Commonness
- Rare
- Best seen
- Year-round
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
The black-tailed godwit is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
02 · Where
Where to find it
- Breeding range
- Widespread in subarctic and temperate wet grassland: Iceland, Faroe Is., British Isles, Scandinavia south to south-west France, east through north-west Russia, north Kazakhstan, north Mongolia east to Chukotskiy Pen., Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Amurland (east Russia) and Inner Mongolia (north-east China)
- Non-breeding range
- AF, OR, AU : coastal and inland temperate to tropical wetlands: south British Isles, south Europe, Macaronesia (north-west of north Africa; scarce), Africa (except south), Middle East, south and south-east Asia, Indonesian Arch., south New Guinea, Australia; Ryukyu Is. (=Nansei Shoto, south Japan), Taiwan, south-east China and Philippines
03 · When
When to look
Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
2 photos
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