RSPB - giving nature a home
Search
Close
Skip to content
Shop | Community
Log in
  • About the RSPB
      About us
    • Our history
    • Our mission
    • How the RSPB is run
    • RSPB Media Centre
    • RSPB job vacancies
    • Get in touch
    • Contact us
    • RSPB offices
    • At home & abroad
    • International
    • England
    • Northern Ireland
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • Latest press releases
    • Stress-busting forest bathing at Sandwell Valley

      Stress-busting forest bathing at Sandwell Valley

      Take a relaxing dip in Sandwell Valley with stress-busting forest bathing.

    • Mountain hare culls continue despite “voluntary restraint"

      Mountain hare culls continue despite “voluntary restraint"

      Coalition calls to introduce urgent safeguards for mountain hare populations.

    • Sunset Safari at RSPB Saltholme.

      Sunset Safari at RSPB Saltholme.

      Witness some fantastic wildlife spectacles, at their sunset safari.

  • Our work
      Conservation
    • Conservation and sustainability
    • Projects
    • Landscape scale conservation
    • Centre for Conservation Science
    • Satellite tracking birds
    • Our positions and casework
    • Our positions
    • Casework
    • RSPB News
    • RSPB News
    • 'Our work' blog
    • Latest news
    • 5 bizarre and beautiful bird courtship displays

      5 bizarre and beautiful bird courtship displays

      Bird courtship rituals can vary from the spectacular to the bizarre

    • 5 RSPB wetland reserves working wonders for people and wildlife

      5 RSPB wetland reserves working wonders for people and wildlife

      Wetland reserves are doing great things for people and wildlife

    • 11 Big Garden Birdwatch fascinating facts

      11 Big Garden Birdwatch fascinating facts

      We’ve pulled together some of the best facts about Big Garden Birdwatch!

  • Birds & wildlife
      Wildlife guides
    • Identify a bird
    • Bird A-Z
    • Other garden wildlife
    • Guide to birdwatching
    • UK conservation status explained
    • Advice
    • How you can help birds
    • Gardening for wildlife
    • Ask an expert
    • Wildlife and the law
    • How to report crimes against wild birds
    • Nature's Home magazine
    • About Nature's Home magazine
    • Birds and wildlife articles
    • RSPB Podcasts
    • Nature's Home blog
    • Most popular bird guides this month
    • Brent Goose

      Brent Goose

      A small, dark goose - the same size as a mallard. It has a black head and neck and grey-brown back.

    • Nightjar

      Nightjar

      A nocturnal bird that can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn.

    • Ring Ouzel

      Ring Ouzel

      male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band.

  • Get involved
      Activities
    • Big Garden Birdwatch
    • Give nature a home in your garden
    • RSPB Competitions
    • Community & advice
    • RSPB local groups
    • Green living
    • RSPB Community
    • Get involved blog
    • Volunteering & fundraising
    • Volunteer
    • Fundraise
    • Campaigning
    • Climate change effects on nature and wildlife
    • Protecting wildlife sites
    • Become a Campaign Champion
    • Defend nature
    • #LeafNatureBetter
    • The 25 Year Environment Plan
    • Top activities to do
    • Food, farming and nature

      Food, farming and nature

      Have your say on the future of our countryside

    • Volunteer

      Volunteer

      Explore these pages to find an opportunity that suits you.

    • Waterwise gardening

      Waterwise gardening

      Use less water in the garden by installing a waterbutt.

  • Reserves & events
      Reserves A-Z Events, dates & inspiration
    • Events
    • Dates with nature
    • Places to visit blog
    • Find a reserve
      Top reserve this month
    • Minsmere

      Minsmere

      There's so much to see and hear at Minsmere, from rare birds and otters to stunning woodland and coastal scenery.

    • Coombes Valley

      Coombes Valley

      This is a delightful oak woodland to walk through – especially in spring and early summer.

    • Arne

      Arne

      Heathland home to more than 2565 species.

  • Fun & Learning
      For teachers
    • Supporting resources
    • Wild Challenge
    • Free school outreach visits
    • School trip ideas
    • Big Schools Birdwatch
    • Sign up for the newsletter
    • For families
    • Big Wild Sleepout
    • Wild Challenge
    • Nature reserves for families
    • For kids
    • Facts about nature
    • Games and activities
    • Kids stories
    • RSPB kids competitions
    • Latest kids' activities
    • Fabulous fungi

      Fabulous fungi

      Go on the hunt for fabulous fungi! How many different shapes, colours and sizes can you spot?

    • Wild Weather

      Wild Weather

      Rain or shine - can you help us measure the weather?

    • Nature WOW!

      Nature WOW!

      Take a Wild Challenge and look out for something with the WOW factor!

  • Join & Donate
      Become a member
    • Individual membership
    • Joint membership
    • Family membership
    • Youth membership
    • Gift membership for nature lovers
    • RSPB Life Fellow Membership
    • Renew your membership
    • Corporate supporters
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Donate
    • Our appeals
    • Make a one-off donation
    • Make a regular donation
    • Memorial donations
    • Plant a memorial tree
    • Leave a gift in your Will
    • Other people's gifts
    • Legacy donation FAQs
    • Legacy administration
    • Other ways to help
    • Gift Aid
    • Support us when you shop
    • RSPB Images
    • RSPB second-hand binocular scheme
    • Win with the RSPB
    • Payroll Giving
    • Save your stamps
    • Sign up to Gift Aid Form
  • Login to your account
  • Shop
  • Community
  • Home
  • Birds & wildlife
  • Wildlife guides
  • Bird A-Z
  • Bar-tailed godwit

Bar-tailed godwit

Bar-tailed godwit (male/summer plumage)
Bar-tailed godwit (male/summer plumage)
Bar-tailed godwit (winter plumage)
Bar-tailed godwit (winter plumage)
Bar-tailed godwit in flight (winter)
Bar-tailed godwit in flight (winter)
  • Scientific name: Limosa lapponica
  • Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Patrik Aberg, Xeno-canto

Key information

The bar-tailed godwit is a long-billed, long-legged wading bird which visits UK shores for the winter. Most usually seen in its grey-brown winter plumage, birds in spring may show their full rich chestnut breeding plumage. In flight it shows a white patch stretching from the rump up the back, narrowing to a point. It breeds in the Arctic of Scandinavia and Siberia and hundreds of thousands of them pass through the UK, on their way further south, or stop off here for the winter.

What they eat:

Mainly shellfish, marine snails and worms and shrimps.

Measurements:

Length:
37-39cm
Wingspan:
70-80cm
Weight:
230-450g

Population:

UK wintering:
41,000 birds

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

Bar-tailed godwit (male/summer plumage)

Bar-tailed godwit, summer plumage
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff Grey Orange Red White
Leg colour: Brown
Beak: Black Red Long Curved Thin
Natural habitats: Grassland Marine and intertidal Wetland

Bar-tailed godwit (winter plumage)

Bar-tailed godwit, winter plumage
Feather colour: Brown Cream/buff Grey White
Leg colour: Brown
Beak: Black Red Long Curved Thin
Natural habitats: Grassland Marine and intertidal Wetland

Similar birds:

The two godwit species that occur in the UK - black-tailed and bar-tailed - can be quite tricky to identify. Though their feathers are constantly changing, birds' body shapes stay the same. Instead of concentrating on what colour a bird is, it's good to look at its other structural features.

Black-tailed godwits have longer legs than the bar-tailed. Sometimes it's hard to see that when they're wading, though! While both godwits have really long bills, the black-tailed's is often longer and a little bit straighter. Bar-tailed godwits' bills are noticeably upcurved.

When in orangey breeding plumage, a black-tailed godwit's belly has black stripes - a bar-tailed's is plain. In its grey-brown, non-breeding plumage, a black-tailed godwit has plain back feathers. At all times of year, a bar-tailed godwit has a streaky back. In breeding plumage, the only bright orangey-red bar-tailed godwits are males. The females are much paler.

If you see a godwit flying, it's easy to identify it. Black-tailed godwits have a bold black and white stripe on each wing, as well as a black and white tail.

  • Black-tailed godwit in breeding plumage
    Black-tailed godwit
  • Whimbrel
    Whimbrel

Where and when to see them

Largest numbers of bar-tailed godwits occur on large estuaries - the Wash, Thames, Ribble, Dee, Humber, Solway and Forth estuaries, and Lough Foyle for example.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Bar-tailed godwit distribution map

Highest numbers of bar-tailed godwits are seen here between November and February, with numbers starting to build in July and August and falling off in March and April. Small numbers of non-breeding birds can be seen throughout the summer.

  • jan
  • feb
  • mar
  • apr
  • may
  • jun
  • jul
  • aug
  • sep
  • oct
  • nov
  • dec

RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Culbin Sands
  • RSPB Lough Foyle
  • RSPB Nigg Bay
  • RSPB Snettisham

Share this

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google+

You might also be interested in

Marsh tit perched on blossom

How to identify birds

You don't need to know anything about birds to enjoy watching them, but it's a natural to ask what kind it is.
Redshank Tringa totanus, in breeding plumage, Geltsdale RSPB reserve, Cumbria,

Upper Thames Wader Project

Supporting farmers conserving wetland wildlife along the upper reaches of the River Thames.
RSPB Giving Nature a Home Campaign

Homes for Nature Fund 2017

You can give nature the space it needs to survive and thrive...

We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy

Quick links

  • Contact us
  • Online Community
  • Vacancies
  • Media centre

Information for

  • Teachers
  • Policy makers
  • Farmers & landowners
  • Scientists

Our work in

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
  • International

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Partnering with

Bird life logo

The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International. Find out more about the partnership

Fundraising Regulator logo OSCR logo

© The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

  • Terms & conditions
  • Cookie and privacy policy
  • Charter and statutes
  • About our site

We use cookies on our website to help give you the best online experience. Tell me more

Ok, got it