Black-tailed Godwit

Overview

The Black-tailed Godwit is a large, long-legged Eurasian shorebird best known for its bold wing and tail pattern, visible clearly in flight and identifiable from shed feathers. It breeds primarily on wet grasslands and lowland meadows across Europe and Asia, habitat that has declined substantially in many regions due to agricultural intensification.

Feathers are typically found around wet grasslands, marshes, and estuaries within the species' Eurasian breeding and wintering range.

Feather Identification

• Tail feathers: a bold black terminal band contrasting with a white base, one of the most distinctive tail patterns among godwits.
• Wing feathers: a broad white wingbar crossing the flight feathers, very conspicuous in flight and a useful clue on isolated wing feathers.
• Breeding underparts: rich chestnut wash across the neck and breast with dark barring on the flanks.
• Nonbreeding feathers: plain grayish-brown above and pale below, losing the chestnut tones.
• Versus Bar-tailed Godwit: the bold black-and-white tail and broad white wingbar readily separate Black-tailed Godwit from the finely barred tail and less contrasting wing pattern of Bar-tailed Godwit.

Plumage Notes

Breeding adults show a rich chestnut wash across the head, neck, and breast with dark barring on the flanks and belly; males average slightly brighter than females. Nonbreeding adults become plain grayish-brown above and whitish below, losing the chestnut coloring entirely.

Juveniles show a buffy wash on the breast with neatly scaled upperpart feathers, distinct from the more solidly chestnut breeding adult. Several subspecies across the breeding range show subtle variation in the extent and depth of chestnut coloring. Molt into nonbreeding plumage occurs mostly after migration.

Habitat & Range

Black-tailed Godwits breed on wet grasslands, water meadows, and marshes across a broad swath of Europe and Central Asia. They migrate to winter on coastal estuaries, mudflats, and wetlands across western Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, with populations in parts of their breeding range having declined significantly due to the loss of wet grassland habitat.

Behavior & Field Notes

Black-tailed Godwits forage by probing in wet soil and shallow water for invertebrates, both on breeding meadows and wintering mudflats. They often gather in dense flocks at favored estuaries and wetlands outside the breeding season.

Nests are shallow scrapes in grassland vegetation, often defended vigorously against predators and disturbance near the colony. The flight call is a loud, urgent "wicka-wicka" note. Feathers, especially the distinctively patterned tail and wing feathers, are a strong identifying find at wetlands within the species' Eurasian range.