Godwit

Common card · No. 305662

Godwits are a group of four large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus Limosa. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock together where food is plentiful. They frequent tidal shorelines, breeding in northern climates in summer and migrating south in winter. A female bar-tailed godwit made a flight of 29,000 km (18,000 mi), flying 11,680 km (7,260 mi) of it without stopping. In 2020 a male bar-tailed godwit flew about 12,200 km (7,600 mi) non-stop in its migration from Alaska to New Zealand, a record at the time for avian non-stop flight. In October 2022, a 5 month old, male bar-tailed godwit was tracked from Alaska to Tasmania, a trip that took 11 days, and recorded a non-stop flight of 13,500 km (8,400 mi). The godwits can be distinguished from the curlews by their straight or slightly upturned bills, and from the dowitchers by their longer legs. The winter plumages are...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Johann Friedrich Naumann, Public domain