Skip to content
Sri Lanka's wildlife encyclopedia

Bar-Tailed Godwit

பட்டைவால் மூக்கன்

Limosa lapponica

Near threatened

Bar-Tailed Godwit
Andreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5

Overview

The bar-tailed godwit 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. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over 29,000 km (18,020 mi).

Recent sightings

Report a sighting

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN): Bar-tailed godwit — CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikipedia (TA): பட்டைவால் மூக்கன் — CC BY-SA 4.0