Audubon
Type in your search and hit enter
Type in your search and hit go

Guide to North American Birds

 Find a Bird

Breeding adult. Photo: Martha de Jong-Lantink/Flickr (CC BY NC ND 2.0)

Black-tailed Godwit

Limosa limosa

The rarest of the four godwits in our area, the Black-tail nests in Eurasia and is only a stray to North America. In Alaska it may be a rare but regular migrant in spring in the Aleutian Islands. On our Atlantic Coast it is only casual or accidental, but strays have been found in several states and provinces, from Newfoundland to Florida.
Family Sandpipers
The rarest of the four godwits in our area, the Black-tail nests in Eurasia and is only a stray to North America. In Alaska it may be a rare but regular migrant in spring in the Aleutian Islands. On our Atlantic Coast it is only casual or accidental, but strays have been found in several states and provinces, from Newfoundland to Florida.
Photo Gallery



Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.

Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds

Download Our Bird Guide App

Black-tailed Godwit In the News More News

How Different Spring Migrants Decide When to Head North
In The Field

How Different Spring Migrants Decide When to Head North

Will warmer weather bring the birds back early? It all depends on what type of migrators they are.

Read more

Explore Similar Birds

These birds need your help