Black-tailed Godwit

The Black-tailed Godwit is a tall, elegant shorebird with long legs, a long, straight bill, and an upright stance. Breeding adults show a rich chestnut-orange head, neck, and breast, with dark barring on the flanks and mottled brown upperparts; non-breeding birds are plainer gray-brown.

In flight it is unmistakable among godwits, showing a bold, broad white wing stripe and a solid black terminal tail band contrasting with a white base—features that make it easy to separate from other godwit species at a distance.

The species has suffered significant declines in parts of its breeding range due to agricultural intensification and drainage of wet grasslands, prompting conservation concern in several European countries.

Key field marks

• Long, straight bill (not obviously upturned, unlike other godwits)
• Bold, broad white wing stripe in flight
• Solid black tail band with white base—very distinctive in flight
• Breeding: chestnut-orange head, neck, and breast with barred flanks

Similar species

• Bar-tailed Godwit shows a finely barred tail and lacks the bold white wing stripe.
• Hudsonian Godwit has a narrower wing stripe and black underwing coverts.
• Marbled Godwit is warmer cinnamon-buff with no strong wing stripe.

Black-tailed Godwits breed in wet grasslands, water meadows, and marshes across Iceland, western and central Europe, and parts of Asia. Outside the breeding season they winter on estuaries, floodplains, and coastal wetlands across western Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.

Populations have declined significantly in intensively farmed lowland Europe due to earlier mowing schedules, drainage, and habitat loss, though the Icelandic breeding population remains comparatively robust.

Voice

A loud, urgent, repeated call, often rendered as wicka-wicka-wicka, given during display flights and territorial defense.

Feeding

Probes soft mud, wet grassland soil, and shallow water for insects, worms, and mollusks, often wading up to its belly while feeding.

Nesting

Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape hidden among grass or sedge in wet meadows. Both parents share incubation and are known for spirited aerial displays and vigorous defense of the nest against predators.