A sleek, elegant shorebird best known for doing something that sounds almost impossible: it can fly halfway around the planet without stopping. This medium-sized bird has a long, straight bill, slightly upturned at the tip, and warm brown or brick-red plumage in the breeding season. Outside of breeding, its colours are softer and more grey-brown, helping it blend in with tidal mudflats and sandy shores. The name “bar-tailed” comes from the pattern across its tail, with dark horizontal bars that become visible in flight. On the ground, it often stands quite upright, giving it a neat, alert posture as it strides through shallow water in search of food.
What makes the Bar-tailed godwit truly extraordinary is its marathon flight ability. Some individuals have been tracked flying from Alaska to New Zealand or eastern Australia in a single nonstop journey of over 11,000 kilometres (6,835 miles), powered only by flapping wings and fat reserves. Before migration, these birds feed furiously, almost doubling their body weight as they pack on fuel. Their internal organs even change size: parts of the body that aren’t essential for flying shrink, while the flight muscles become stronger and the fat stores increase. Once ready, they launch into the sky and may fly for more than a week without landing, sleeping in short bursts while on the wing and navigating over open ocean with no landmarks.
Their yearly lifestyle is a chase after endless summer. Bar-tailed godwits breed in the far north, in the open tundra of Alaska and Siberia, where days are long, and insects are abundant. There they nest on the ground in shallow scrapes lined with bits of vegetation, and both parents help care for the eggs. After the chicks grow and learn to feed themselves, the families head south, though young birds often make their first journey without directly following their parents.
Distribution
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Benin
Bhutan
Bosnia And Herz.
Botswana
Brazil
British Indian T.
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central Af. Rep.
Chad
China
Christmas Island
Comoros
Congo-Brazzaville
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Côte D’ivoire
DR Congo (Kinshasa)
Denmark
Djibouti
East Timor
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Southern T.
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Guam
Guernsey
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Holy See
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle Of Man
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
Nort. Mariana Is.
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Réunion
Saint Helena
Saint Pierre
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Svalbard
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
São Tomé & Príncipe
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Turkey
UAE
US Virgin Islands
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
ZimbabweAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Flock
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
