Key information
The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird which there are three 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.
Length : (7.5 to 12 cm (3.0 to 4.7 in) long
Wingspan: 70–82 cm (28–32 in)
Weight : Males weigh around 280 g (9.9 oz) and females 340 g (12 oz).The female is around 5% larger than the male, with a bill 12–15% longer.
Population : 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened.
Habitat: Their breeding habitat is river valley fens, floods at the edges of large lakes, damp steppes, raised bogs and moorlands.
Diet: mainly 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.
Location
Video
Black-Tailed Godwit from Bird Mongolia on Vimeo.
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