Bar or black tailed godwit?

[Ukwildlifeo]

Someone told me which one these are but I cant remember which one!



Any hints on separating the two species would be great too

[Jonners]

These are Black Tailed Godwits. Bar-tailed tend to be shorter and have slightly upturned beaks.

[aeshna5]

Agree, Black-tailed Godwits.

[Tringa]

On the ground the black tails have a straighter bill, the bar tails have a slightly upturned bill.

In flight the black tail has a clear white wing bar, a definite black tail and square white rump. The bar tail has no obvious black tail and the white on the rump is wedge shaped.

But as always if the light or sighting is not good, its not as easy as it appears.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Tringa

But as always if the light or sighting is not good, its not as easy as it appears.

In that situation, one of the indicators is feeding gizz. The two species have quite distinct feeding behaviour. Barwits feed with bills almost continuously down (like Glossy Ibis!) whereas Blackwits lift up their heads frequently while feeding. (btw bill structure isn't altogether reliable, there's some overlap and much individual variation - it's never easy is it!). Plumage is distinctive (if you don't see them in flight) in both summer and winter (in winter, Blackwits have a fairly plain mantle compared to Barwits which are more 'patterned')

[Ukwildlifeo]

Thanks guys