Black-tailed godwit

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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. 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.

Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird of the Netherlands.

Taxonomy

The black-tailed godwit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Scolopax limosa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is now placed with three other godwits in the genus Limosa that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ioc>Template:Cite web</ref> The name Limosa is from Latin and means "muddy", from limus, "mud".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The English name "godwit" was first recorded in about 1416–17 and is believed to imitate the bird's call.<ref name=OED>Template:Cite OED</ref>

Four subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>

  • L. l. islandica – Brehm, 1831: the Icelandic black-tailed godwit, which breeds mostly in Iceland, but also on the Faeroe Islands, the Shetland and the Lofoten Islands. It has a shorter bill, shorter legs and more rufous coloration extending onto the belly, compared to L. l. limosa.<ref name=bwpi/>
  • L. l. limosa – (Linnaeus, 1758): the European black-tailed godwit, which breeds from western and central Europe to central Asia and Asiatic Russia, as far east as the Yenisei River.<ref name=birdlife/> Its head, neck and chest are pale orange.<ref name=bwpi/>
  • L. l. melanuroides – Gould, 1846: the Asian black-tailed godwit, which breeds in Mongolia, northern China, Siberia and Far Eastern Russia.<ref name=birdlife/> Its plumage is similar to L. l. islandica, but is distinctly smaller.<ref name=bwpi/>
  • L. l. bohaii – Zhu, Piersma, Verkuil & Conklin, 2020:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> assumed to breed in Russian Far East; non-breeding in northeast China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia

Description

Juvenile (with pink bill)

The black-tailed godwit is a large wader with long bill (Template:Convert long), neck and legs. During the breeding season, the bill has a yellowish or orange-pink base and dark tip; the base is pink in winter. The legs are dark grey, brown or black. The sexes are similar,<ref name=bwpi/> but in breeding plumage, they can be separated by the male's brighter, more extensive orange breast, neck and head. In winter, adult black-tailed godwits have a uniform brown-grey breast and upperparts (in contrast to the bar-tailed godwit's streaked back). Juveniles have a pale orange wash to the neck and breast.<ref name=collins/>

In flight, its bold black and white wings and white rump can be seen readily. When on the ground it can be difficult to separate from the similar bar-tailed godwit, but the black-tailed godwit's longer, straighter bill and longer legs are diagnostic.<ref name=collins/><ref name=birdlife/> Black-tailed godwits are similar in body size and shape to bar-taileds, but stand taller.<ref name=bwpi/>

It measures Template:Convert from bill to tail with a wingspan of Template:Convert.<ref name=bwpi/> Males weight around Template:Convert and females Template:Convert.<ref name=bto/> The female is around 5% larger than the male,<ref name=bwpi/> with a bill 12–15% longer.<ref name=birdwatch/>

The most common call is a strident weeka weeka weeka.

A study of black-tailed godwits in the Netherlands found a mortality rate of 37.6% in the first year of life, 32% in the second year, and 36.9% thereafter.<ref name=bwpi/> The oldest recorded, Template:As of, is 29 years 2 months, for a bird of the Icelandic subspecies L. l. islandica; it was colour ringed as a juvenile on 30 August 1996 on The Wash in Lincolnshire, England, and has subsequently been seen on a total of 91 occasions, including breeding in northern Iceland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Distribution and habitat

Black-tailed godwits have a discontinuous breeding range stretching from Iceland to the far east of Russia.<ref name=birdlife/> Their breeding habitat is river valley fens, floods at the edges of large lakes, damp steppes, raised bogs and moorlands. An important proportion of the European population now uses secondary habitats: lowland wet grasslands (with vegetation up to about 50 cm tall),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> coastal grazing marshes, pastures, wet areas near fishponds or sewage works, and saline lagoons. Breeding can also take place in sugar beet, potato and rye fields in the Netherlands and Germany.<ref name=bin/>

In spring, black-tailed godwits feed largely in grasslands, moving to muddy estuaries after breeding and for winter.<ref name=bin/> On African wintering grounds, swamps, floods and irrigated paddy fields can attract flocks of birds. In India, inland pools, lakes and marshes are used, and occasionally brackish lakes, tidal creeks and estuaries.<ref name=bwpi/>

Godwits from the Icelandic population winter mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, though some fly on to Spain, Portugal, and perhaps Morocco.<ref name=ibtg/> Birds of the limosa subspecies from western Europe fly south to Morocco and then on to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Birds from the eastern European populations migrate to Tunisia and Algeria, then on to Mali or Chad.<ref name=birdguides/> Young birds from the European populations stay on in Africa after their first winter and return to Europe at the age of two years.<ref name=bin/> Asian black-tailed godwits winter in Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

In flight

Black-tailed godwits are much more likely to be found on inland wetlands than the more coastal bar-tailed godwit. They migrate in flocks to western Europe, Africa, south Asia and Australia. Although this species occurs in Ireland and Great Britain all year-round, they are not the same birds. The breeding birds depart in autumn, but are replaced in winter by the larger Icelandic race. These birds occasionally appear in the Aleutian Islands and, rarely, on the Atlantic coast of North America.

Behaviour

Breeding

Displaying black-tailed godwit
Limosa limosa - MHNT

Black-tailed godwits are mostly monogamous; although it was not recorded in a four-year study of 50–60 pairs, bigamy was considered "probably frequent".<ref name=bwpi/> A study of the Icelandic population showed that despite spending winter apart, pairs are reunited on their breeding grounds within an average of three days of each other. If one partner does not arrive on time, 'divorce' occurs.<ref name=bbc/> They nest in loose colonies. Unpaired males defend a temporary territory and perform display flights to attract a mate. Several nest scrapes are made away from the courtship territory, and are defended from other godwits. Once eggs are laid, an area of Template:Convert around the nest is defended.<ref name=bwpi/> The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground, usually in short vegetation.<ref name=cbb/> The eggs may be hidden with vegetation by the incubating parent.<ref name=bwpi/>

The single brood of three to six eggs, coloured olive-green to dark brown,<ref name=bwpi/> measure Template:Convert and weigh Template:Convert each (of which 6% is shell).<ref name=bto/> Incubation lasts 22–24 days and is performed by both parents. The young are downy and precocial and are brooded while they are small and at night during colder weather. After hatching, they are led away from the nest and may move to habitats such as sewage farms, lake edges, marshes and mudflats.<ref name=bwpi/> The chicks fledge after 25–30 days.<ref name=bto/>

Black-tailed godwit productivity varies, positively, with spring temperatures. However, during extreme events, such as a volcanic eruption, complete breeding failures can occur.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Food and feeding

File:Black-tailed Godwit.ogv They mainly eat invertebrates, but also aquatic plants in winter and on migration. In the breeding season, prey includes beetles, flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, mayflies, caterpillars, annelid worms and molluscs. Occasionally, fish eggs, frogspawn and tadpoles are eaten. In water, the most common feeding method is to probe vigorously, up to 36 times per minute, and often with the head completely submerged. On land, black-tailed godwits probe into soft ground and also pick prey items from the surface.<ref name=bwpi/>

Relationship to humans

In Europe, black-tailed godwits are only hunted in France, with the annual total killed estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 birds. This puts additional pressure on the western European population, and the European Commission has a management plan in place for the species in its member states.<ref name=eu/> In England, black-tailed godwits were formerly much prized for the table.<ref name=brit/> Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682) said: "[Godwits] were accounted the daintiest dish in England and I think, for the bignesse, of the biggest price." Old names included Blackwit,<ref name=brit/> Whelp, Yarwhelp, Shrieker, Barker and Jadreka Snipe.<ref name=air/> The Icelandic name for the species is Jaðrakan.<ref name=bto/>

Status

There is an estimated global population of between 634,000 and 805,000 birds and estimated range of Template:Convert.<ref name=birdlife/> In 2006 BirdLife International classified this species as Near Threatened due to a decline in numbers of around 25% in the previous 15 years.<ref name=IUCN/> It is also among the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.<ref name=aewa/> In 2024, L. limosa was listed as Endangered under the Australian EPBC Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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Further reading

Identification

Separation of limosa and islandica

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