When the tide is out on my Somerset coastal patch, there\u2019s so much mud it looks as if you could walk all the way across the bay to Wales.<\/p>\n
That seemed apt when I came across a flock of black-tailed godwits, whose scientific name, Limosa limosa, literally means \u201cmuddy muddy\u201d. The name seems inappropriate for such an elegant bird, although their long legs do allow them to feed in the muddiest places.<\/p>\n
Our second-largest wader after the curlew, they sport a long, straight bill and chestnut-red breeding plumage, fading to grey-brown in winter. In flight, they reveal a striking black-and-white wing pattern, marking them out from the mottled brown wings of their smaller relative, the bar-tailed godwit.<\/p>\n
Here in Somerset, we mostly see black-tailed godwits as they pass through in spring and autumn, on the coast and inland. They don\u2019t travel as far as their globetrotting relatives, overwintering mainly in Ireland and France, and breeding farther north and east. Our birds are mainly of the Icelandic race \u2013 a deeper, more reddish shade than their continental cousins.<\/p>\n
Like all the world\u2019s godwits and curlews, black-tailed godwit numbers are in steep decline, because of habitat loss and intensive farming. BirdLife International now classifies the species as \u201cnear threatened\u201d \u2013 so the small UK breeding population, mainly in East Anglia, needs all the help it can get.<\/p>\n
This article<\/a> by Stephen Moss was first published by The Guardian on 9 April 2025. Lead Image: Black-tailed godwits sport a long, straight bill, and chestnut-red breeding plumage, fading to grey-brown in winter. Photograph: Action Foto Sport\/NurPhoto\/Rex\/Shutterstock.<\/i><\/p>\n Wildlife continues to face threats, which include hunting, poaching, illegal trade in animal products, habitat loss as well as a rapidly changing climate.<\/p>\n Become a Wildlife Champion by supporting our conservation partners<\/a> with a monthly donation as little as $1.<\/p>\nWhat you can do<\/h2>\n