Bar-tailed Godwit

The Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica, is a large shorebird. It is a relatively short-legged member of the godwit genus.

Adults have blue-grey legs and a very long dark bill with a slight upward curve and pink at the tip. The neck, breast and belly are unstreaked brick red in breeding plumage, off white in winter. The back is mottled grey.

Their breeding habitat is arctic Asia on open tundra. They nest on the ground, usually in short vegetation.

They migrate in flocks to coastal western Europe, Africa, south Asia and Australia.

These birds forage by probing on mudflats or in marshes. In short vegetation, they may pick up insects by sight. They mainly eat insects and crustaceans, but also eat parts of aquatic plants.

They are distinguished from Black-tailed Godwit by their barred, not black, tail, and lack of white wingbars. The most similar species is the rare Asiatic Dowitcher.