Page 194 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WADERS
Order Charadriiformes Family Scolopacidae Species Limosa lapponica
Bar-tailed Godwit

warm orange-buff
plain upperwings on neck
with darker tips long, fine-
tipped, faintly
upcurved bill
streaked streaked grey-brown
bright buff and buff (adult less
barred above chequered)
tail pinkish
bill base
ADULT
IN FLIGHT (WINTER)
JUVENILE
pale buff
breast
shortish
dark legs
deep coppery
red underside
(female paler)

MALE
(SUMMER)
IMMATURE
(1ST WINTER)
FLIGHT: quick, agile; legs not trailing much beyond
tail; often acrobatic.
hile Black-tailed Godwits breed in Europe, Bar-
Wtailed Godwits breed in the far northern tundra, but
they are otherwise much more widespread on shores of all
kinds.They prefer extensive mudflats, groups scattering
over them to probe for food, and are driven at high tide to
large, mixed roosts where they tend to keep a little separate
from the Curlews, Redshanks, and other species close by.
Flocks flying to roost may arrive quite high up and dive
down with much acrobatic twisting and rolling.
VOICE In flight, quick, yelping kirruk kirruk.
NESTING Small scrape on ground on drier patch in cold HIGH-TIDE FLURRY
tundra; 4 eggs; 1 brood; May–July. A rising tide pushes a group of godwits off a mud bank, to seek a
FEEDING Probes for large marine worms and molluscs. safe roost on a nearby marsh.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Arctic breeder on tundra; in
CURLEW downcurved bill Europe, mostly in scattered flocks
see p.193 on broad estuaries, but also seen
straighter
bill in small numbers on smaller
larger beaches and rocky shores,
longer legs lingering until May and returning
from July onwards.
BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
bold wing pattern Seen in the UK
in flight; see p.191 JF M A M J JA S ON D
Length 33–42cm (13–16 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 61–68cm (24–27in) Weight 280–450g (10–16oz)
Social Winter flocks Lifespan 10–15 years Status Vulnerable
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