Limosa limosa
Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, Limosa. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times.
Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened.
The black-tailed godwit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Scolopax limosa. It is now placed with three other godwits in the genus Limosa that...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 3 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 6 | Oosterschelde National Park | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 9 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 12 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 13 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 18 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 20 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 21 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 22 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 23 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 24 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 25 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 3 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 4 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Mumbai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 9 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 10 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Godwit sighting in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, based on 103 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Godwit in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, against about 50% in March and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in August. May to October have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-tailed Godwit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Black-tailed Godwit sightings, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 30%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-tailed Godwit is recorded against all the birds logged in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (103 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
