| Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) |
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The Bar-tailed Godwit breeds on the coast and in low-lying tundra in Lapland and adjacent Russia as well as in Siberia and Alaska. It winters around the North Sea and Atlantic coasts of Europe and, to a lesser extent, of the Mediterranean. It arrives in its wintering grounds around August and returns north to breed by late May. |
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It is similar to Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa but, in breeding plumage can be distinguished by its unbarred rufous belly and dark bill, while in winter plumage its upperparts look streaked rather than plain. It also has a barred rather than black tail but that can, at times, be difficult to see. | |
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The bill tends to be shorter than that of the Black-tailed Godwit as well as being more noticeably upcurved. The legs are shorter but the supercilium is longer. In flight, the Bar-tailed has a white wedge up the back, similar to that of a Curlew, while the Black-tailed has a white square on the rump and prominent white wing-bars. | |
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