Black-tailed godwit

Black-tailed godwit
Breeding plumage
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Genus:	Limosa
Species:	L. limosa
Binomial name
Limosa limosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
L. l. limosa Linnaeus, 1758 L. l. islandica Brehm, 1831 L. l. melanuroides Gould, 1846
Range of L. limosa   Breeding range   Resident range   Wintering range
Synonyms
Scolopax aegocephala Linnaeus, 1758 Scolopax limosa Linnaeus, 1758 Limosa belgica J.F. Gmelin[2]

The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times.

Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird of the Netherlands.