Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponica
- Family
- Sandpipers and Allies (Scolopacidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, and a long upturned bill. Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinter on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to see it
Destination guides featuring this bird
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- JJuly: Poor or no data
- AAugust: Poor or no data
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- OOctober: Poor or no data
- NNovember: Poor or no data
- DDecember: Poor or no data
- JJanuary: Good
- FFebruary: Good
- MMarch: Best
- AApril: Best
- MMay: Best
- JJune: Poor or no data
- JJuly: Poor or no data
- AAugust: Best
- SSeptember: Best
- OOctober: Best
- NNovember: Good
- DDecember: Good
- JJanuary: Best
- FFebruary: Best
- MMarch: Best
- AApril: Good
- MMay: Poor or no data
- JJune: Poor or no data
- JJuly: Poor or no data
- AAugust: Poor or no data
- SSeptember: Good
- OOctober: Best
- NNovember: Best
- DDecember: Best
Range and habitat
Continents
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Benin
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- China
- Christmas Island
- Comoros
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guam
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Micronesia
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norfolk Island
- North Korea
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Poland
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Reunion
- Russia
- Samoa
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Bar-tailed godwit
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.