Black-tailed Godwit - limosa v islandica

We usually get a few claims of the limosa race of Black-tailed Godwit each autumn but it is in fact quite a rare bird in Avon. The overwhelming majority of our birds are islandica. 

Slimbridge has had excellent numbers of Black-tailed Godwits (200+) on site for a while now and/but even they have recorded only 4 birds of the limosa race so far this autumn.

By good fortune, the Avon Recorder was at Slimbridge recently and managed to send in this photo and some words which we hope members will find useful.

17.7.11 Black-tailed Godwits at Slimbridge © John Martin, many thanks
limosa is the centre right bird

 It is a juvenile bird with evenly aged, neatly fringed plumage at a time of year when most Black-tailed Godwits are more than a year old and many retain at least some breeding plumage (though some show no orange at all, probably mainly young birds from last year, though the adults are moulting into winter plumage too). 

Early juvenile Black-tailed Godwits (I have seen them as early as 4 July) are well worth a look as the first returning juvenile islandica, by far the commonest of the two races with us (and indeed in the whole country), will be arriving quite soon. They have the typically rather bright orange toned neck and upper breast as well as more strongly patterned with orangey internal markings and notches on the tertials and scapulars in particular. 

In comparison limosa is duller and more sombre with only slight orangey tones to the browny washed neck and plainer upperparts with some motching but mainly just near the tips of the tertials, for example, giving an overall plainer look. 

The two races differ in structure too, with limosa noticably large and with long legs and bill but they are very variable with the longest billed females of both races much longer than the corresponding males. 

Limosa is distinctly rare in our region but Slimbridge is a good place to see them as you get good views of the regular Black-tailed Godwit  flock, though it is nearly always exclusively islandica and the last limosa I saw there was in 2003. 

These birds today were, I think, found by the reserve wardens.

In addition it is worth noting that while islandica birds winter here in good numbers, limosa birds do not and they soon migrate off south to winter. 

Note also that juvenile/1st winter islandica birds later in the autumn show less intense orange tones through bleaching and wear so they look duller and more like limosa.  Limosa are always more likely to turn up very early in the season and less likely later on, when islandica have faded.

Our recent records of limosa have been of adult birds at CVL. It would be nice to get a juvenile bird for the record.


Check out also the following link for further information and photos:


http://birdingfrontiers.com/2011/07/15/more-on-continental-black-tailed-godwits/


Many thanks John.