❝Hudsonian Godwit is an extremely rare visitor from the New World ❞
Godwits are a genus of four large and elegant wader species found worldwide, three of which have been recorded in Europe and are covered here. Two of these, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits, are familiar and can be seen throughout the year. The third, Hudsonian Godwit, is an extremely rare visitor from the New World, which has now been recorded here on a handful of occasions. While each is generally quite distinctive when seen well, all three share certain plumage or structural similarities which can make identifying them less than straightforward, especially if field views are wanting.
Black-tailed Godwit
This is the default godwit found across Britain or Ireland, being just at home on freshwater wetlands inland as it is in coastal habitats. It is present year round. Two subspecies occur: islandica, which breeds in Iceland, is a fairly common passage migrant and winter visitor, forming flocks thousandsstrong in some areas outside the breeding season; and nominate limosa (often referred to as ‘Continental Black-tailed Godwit’), which is much scarcer overall but breeds in small numbers on the washlands of The Fens and can be found in ones and twos elsewhere – normally in summer and early autumn, when it is more readily distinguishable.
Like many waders, this species is plain grey above in winter and white below. A bold supercilium contrasts with darker lores; the bill is very long and very slightly upturned (although essentially looks straight at a distance), with a pale pinkish basal twothirds and darker tip. The legs are long and black.
In breeding plumage, the head, neck and upper breast and flanks become a rich orangey-red, with the hue and extent of this most intense in Icelandic birds – Continental breeders average a paler orange and lack colour on the flanks. The flanks and lower breast are barred black, while the upperparts become a varying extent of spangled orange and black. The bill base becomes orangey.
Juveniles show a neat, but washed-out version of this plumage, although they lack the barring on the underparts and show a soft suffusion of peachy-orange to the head, neck and upper breast rather than solid colour.
In flight, Black-tailed Godwit is very striking: the rump is white, contrasting with a solid black tail-tip. The upperwing pattern is similarly contrasting, with a broad white wing-bar on black flight feathers. The underwing is crisp white.
The call is a rapid, nasal vi-vi-vi, while displaying birds utter a noisy and repetitive kew-wit kew-wit kew-wit.
Bar-tailed Godwit
This is a relatively numerous passage migrant and winter visitor across Britain and Ireland, although a very small number of non-breeding birds may be found throughout the summer. Unlike the previous species, it shows a strong preference for coastal habitats, being a routine bird of beaches, estuaries and rocky shores, and is very scarce inland.
It is one of the world’s great flyers – a tagged bird was logged as travelling 12,000 km non-stop over the Pacific Ocean between Alaska and New Zealand in just 11 days in autumn 2020. It has a circumpolar breeding distribution; northbound migration can be quite impressive in Britain in April and early May and it is at this time that land-locked birders have their best chance of connecting.
Although about equal in size to Black-tailed Godwit, it appears squatter, being shorter legged and heavier bodied. It also shows a clearly upcurved bill; however, the longerbilled and larger females may appear straighter billed, thus resembling Black-tailed.
In winter birds are grey above and white below. The upperpart feathers have dark centres, giving a streaked effect that contrasts with the plainer-looking Blacktailed. The supercilium is also longer, extending further behind the eye.
The species shows significant differences in flight. The uppertail shows intricate barring, while the white rump extends as a triangular wedge up the back, similar to the pattern seen in Whimbrel. The upperwing is plain, lacking the broad white wingbar seen in Black-tailed. The underwing is white, but shows variable dark flecking.
Plumage is sexually dimorphic in the breeding season, with the smaller males attaining deep rusty-red underparts, this rich colour extending from the face right down to the vent and without the barring of Black-tailed. The upperparts are black with gold spangling and the bill becomes all dark. Females retain a more winter-like plumage, lacking the rich red of the male, although the underparts do become washed with a pale buffy-peach colour.
Juveniles have a streaked appearance to the upperparts, the feathers fringed with silver. It is usually more monochrome than similaraged Black-tailed Godwit, but brighter birds do show a suffusion of apricot to the underparts, which tends to be most noticeable around the neck and upper breast.
Migrating birds are often silent, but birds will utter a sharp ku-ku or ku; the alarm call is more of a kuwee-kuweekuwee.
Hudsonian Godwit
A New World species, Hudsonian Godwit breeds in Arctic Canada and migrates south to winter in southern South America. It is an extremely rare vagrant in Europe with fewer than 10 records, four of which have come from Britain.
In many respects this species looks like a cross between Black-tailed and Bartailed Godwits, being very similar to Black-tailed in nonbreeding plumage or when seen in flight, while more akin to Bar-tailed in terms of body shape and upturned bill. Non-breeding birds have uniformly grey upperparts and show a similar upperwing and tail pattern to Black-tailed Godwit, although the white wing-bar is less extensive.
Most striking, however, are the jet-black underwing coverts, which are diagnostic. In breeding plumage, males look rather like breeding male Bar-tailed Godwits with a contrasting greyish head. The base of the bill becomes orange rather than the pink of winter. The larger females show a similar pattern, although are generally duller with the rufous underpart markings patchier and wavier in appearance.
The call is a simple, highpitched wit or to-wit.■
2 Black-tailed Godwits (a Hvolsvöllur, Iceland, 9 June 2016; b Arkenheemse Polder, The Netherlands, 16 April
2009). These breeding-plumaged birds illustrate the variation between the islandica (left) and limosa forms. The former averages a deeper, richer red on the head and neck, with this colour extending onto the flanks. The latter averages a paler orange colour, with this restricted to the head and neck (the basal colour of the flanks is white). The upperparts also tend to be more uniform greyish in the latter with less spangling, although moulting islandica may also simulate this appearance. 2a
4a 4a and 4b Hudsonian Godwits (Manitoba, Canada, 12 June 2017). This comparison shows breeding male (left) and female Hudsonian Godwits. Note the male’s unbroken brick-red colouration below, with more extensively black upperparts. In contrast, the female’s belly appears more diffuse, being made up of loose barring rather than solid colour. Also noticeable in this image is the larger size and rangier structure of the female, with its longer bill. The head and neck is greyish and streaked, with a prominent pale supercilium.
3 3 Bar-tailed Godwits (Katwijk, The Netherlands, 23 April
2020). This wonderful image shows the variation in spring Bartailed Godwit. The male (left) is a gorgeous brick red below, with black upperpart feathers fringed with orange (these wearing by late summer to give a more uniformly dark impression). The pale base to the bill also reduces, looking uniformly dark in some birds (as here). In contrast, breeding females loosely resemble winter plumage, although usually show a few hints of colour in the flanks, belly and upperparts. Note the shorter-legged, squatter structure when compared to the Black-tailed Godwits above.
4b
2b
7
7 Hudsonian Godwit (Punta Rasa, San Clemente del Tuyu, Argentina, 6 March 2005). This image shows how Hudsonian can appear something of a cross between Black-tailed and Bartailed Godwits. It shows a very similar uniform-grey non-breeding plumage to Black-tailed, although the bill is clearly more upturned and seems similar to Bar-tailed
in that respect. A bird like this may be easily lost in a flock of non-breeding Black-tailed, though, and seeing it in flight would be the only easy way to nail the identification. A few hints of breeding plumage, namely the dark barring on the belly and undertail coverts, are subtle clues as to its identification.
6 6 Bar-tailed Godwit (Titchwell RSPB, Norfolk, 4 December 2016). This image aptly demonstrates the more intricate plumage of non-breeding Bartailed Godwit. The upperpart feathering is grey, but shows conspicuous black centres, creating a streaked impression. Streaking on the crown gives a capped impression, while the face and neck are also faintly streaked. Faint patterning is also apparent on the flanks and the undertail shows dark barring, this wrapping round onto the upperside to give the species its name. Note also the distinctly upturned bill and shorter legs when compared with the above Black-tailed.
5 5 Black-tailed Godwit (Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk, 4 December 2016). This nonbreeding Black-tailed Godwit shows the uniform grey upperparts, diffuse greyish neck sides and clean white underparts that typify the ‘featureless’ plumage shown at this season. Although hunched up, the bird’s elegance is still apparent: note the long legs and long, straightlooking bill, while the neck also looks long. A pale foresupercilium tapers out behind the eye and contrasts with the slightly darker lores.
10
10 Hudsonian Godwit (Connecticut, USA, 17 October 2009). Juvenile Hudsonian
Godwit is quite a uniform-looking bird, and could even be overlooked as an adult Blacktailed on poor views (assuming the underwing hadn’t been seen). The upperparts are extensively plain grey, although some feathers show blackish streaks or anchor markings with pale fringing. Structurally, note the upcurved bill.
9
9 Bar-tailed Godwit (St Mary’s, Scilly, 9 October 2018. This juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit is
superficially similar to the Blacktailed above, but it is evidently shorter legged and the bill is more obviously upcurved. Furthermore, the supercilium extends well behind the eye and the wing coverts show a different pattern, being pale with a dark streak running along the feather shaft. Two diagnostic features are also detectable in this image: the barring (not solid black) on the uppertail and the white wedge extending up the back.
8
8 Black-tailed Godwit (Wallasey, Cheshire, 17 September 2011).
This bird’s plumage is pristine, ageing it as a juvenile. The upperparts display dark feathering with golden fringing, while the underparts are suffused with a peachy-orange colour that is at its brightest on the neck (there is no barring, as in adults). The cap is finely mottled dark, while the pale supercilium does not extend beyond the eye. Structurally, the legs are long and the bill is fairly straight, being only slightly upcurved towards the tip. Note that some juveniles won’t have a fully grown bill by this stage, and may appear peculiarly short billed.
13 13 Hudsonian Godwit (Inishmore, Co Galway, 17 September 2015). The first feature that leaps out about this bird is the black underwing coverts, which is diagnostic of Hudsonian. The upperwing pattern is similar to Black-tailed, but note how the white wing-bar is significantly narrower than in that species. The bill is noticeably upcurved, recalling Bar-tailed, and is relatively short. This, coupled with the solid orange markings to the belly (albeit now in moult), identify this as an adult male Hudsonian Godwit transitioning from breeding to winter plumage.
11
11 Black-tailed
Godwit (Iceland, 17 June 2006).
A flight view like this of a Blacktailed Godwit should provide no identification conundrums. The black-and-white wing pattern, with broad white wing-bar, plus black tail contrasting with square white rump, coupled with the Persil-white underwing are enough to identify the bird to species level. The intense orange-red of the head, neck and flanks – plus the date and location! – mean it is quickly discernible as a breedingplumaged bird of the islandica subspecies.
12 12 Bar-tailed Godwit (Hanko, Finland, 13 September 2006). Three diagnostic features of Bartailed Godwit are shown nicely here, namely the barred tail and the white rump extending as a triangular wedge up onto the bird’s back – a pattern shown by neither Black-tailed nor Hudsonian Godwits – plus the lack of a discernible wing-bar across the upperwing, creating a plain impression in flight. The underwing is largely white with some dark flecking; the extent of this varies between individuals. The warm tones to the plumage, plus its overall pristine condition, age this bird as a juvenile.