# Black-tailed godwit (*Limosa limosa*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tailed-godwit  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), also called Blackwit or European black-tailed godwit, is a bird in the family Scolopacidae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of wetland habitat that weighs from 264 to 330 g, with a representative mass of 288.4 g and a wingspan of 76 cm. It is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator, and it lays 3.95 eggs per clutch (up to 4), with one clutch per year and an incubation period of 23.5 days. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 264 g – 330 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 76 cm |
| Lifespan | 23.5 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 23.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 23.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.95 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Scolopacidae
- genus: Limosa
- species: *Limosa limosa* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Limosa belgica*, *Limosa melanura*, *Scolopax lacustris*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the black-tailed godwit?

The black-tailed godwit is a small migratory bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes.

### How much does a black-tailed godwit weigh?

An adult Black-tailed godwit weighs from 264 to 330 g, with a representative value of 288.4 g. Its wingspan is 76 cm.

### What does the black-tailed godwit eat?

The black-tailed godwit is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.

### Is the black-tailed godwit endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened (NT), which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a black-tailed godwit live?

The black-tailed godwit has a lifespan of 23.5 years, with values up to 23.58 years reported.

### How many eggs does a black-tailed godwit lay?

The black-tailed godwit lays 3.95 eggs per clutch, up to 4, with one clutch per year. Incubation lasts 23.5 days.

### Which countries is the black-tailed godwit recorded in?

Checklists record the black-tailed godwit in Australia.

### Who named the black-tailed godwit?

The scientific name Limosa limosa is attributed to (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tailed-godwit