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"Glowing Godwit" - An 'omniscience' of Black-Tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) Oare Marshes

These large wading birds are a Schedule 1 species. In summer, they have bright orangey-brown chests and bellies, but in winter they're more greyish-brown.

 

Their most distinctive features are their long beaks and legs, and the black and white stripes on their wings. Female black-tailed godwits are bigger and heavier than the males, with a noticeably longer beak (which helps the sexes to avoid competing for food with each other).

 

They're very similar to bar-tailed godwits, which breed in the Arctic. Black-tailed godwits have longer legs, and bar-tailed godwits don't have striped wings. As the names suggest, the tail patterns are different, too.

 

Extract taken from www.rspb.org.uk

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Uploaded on April 4, 2021
Taken on April 3, 2021