Black-tailed Godwit

1. Long, straight bill with an orange-pink base and dark tip.

2. White wing-bar, white rump, and black tail visible in flight.

3. Taller and slimmer than similar godwits, with legs that extend beyond the tail in flight.

Black-tailed Godwits feed mainly on invertebrates such as insects, worms, molluscs, and crustaceans, which they find by probing mud and shallow water with their sensitive bills. They often forage in flocks and can be seen wading in deeper water than many other shorebirds, sometimes submerging their heads completely. The species is highly migratory, undertaking long-distance journeys between breeding and non-breeding grounds each year. Black-tailed Godwits are mostly monogamous, nesting in loose colonies, with both parents sharing incubation and care of the chicks. They do not breed in Australia, but migrate there after breeding in the northern hemisphere.

Black-tailed Godwits breed in wet grasslands, marshes, and moorlands across Europe and central Asia. During the non-breeding season, they migrate to estuaries, mudflats, lagoons, and shallow inland wetlands throughout Africa, South Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. In Australia, they are most often found along northern coasts and large inland wetlands, especially during the southern summer.