Black-tailed Godwit Identification
Its scientific name is 'Limosa limosa', from the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes)
What I look like
The Black-tailed Godwit is a bit smaller than the Pied Avocet.
It has a long, mostly straight bill, black with an orange base.
Its legs are long and dark.
In non-breeding plumage, the upper parts are uniform light brown and the underparts are white.
In breeding plumage, the colors are contrasted with the appearance of bright orange-brown on the neck and chest.
The male is often smaller and more colorful than the female.
Juveniles have the neck and chest "buff". Their plumage is less contrasted and a pale edging is visible on the upper parts.
In flight, a wide white wing bar, the black tail, and a white square on the rump are noticeable.
My songs, my calls
The Black-tailed Godwit has a rapid and timid flight contact call "vi-vu" "vi-vi-vu" and a "vèh-i" that resembles the Northern Lapwing.
It is noisy at nesting sites.
Its courtship flight song is powerful and drawn out, producing "véddu vittou véddu vittou".
How I behave
The Black-tailed Godwit is often seen in groups.
In flight, it has an elongated silhouette with the legs extending beyond the tail.
How I reproduce
The Black-tailed Godwit often nests in colonies in maritime dunes.
Its nest is a simple scrape, adorned with a few twigs.
During incubation, the males perform acrobatic and singing flights above the brooding female.
The chicks are recognized by their very long, wobbly legs and their reddish down.
What I eat
The Black-tailed Godwit feeds on worms, larvae, and small crustaceans.
Either by probing the mud, plunging its long bill into the water.
Or out of the water, in meadows to find earthworms like snipe.
Where to find me
The Black-tailed Godwit lives near estuaries, mudflats, and lagoons, and in wet meadows and marshes.
It is migratory, as it breeds in Central and Eastern Europe and winters in North Africa and around the Mediterranean basin.
It can live for about sixteen years.