Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) is a slender bird, for which a long straight bill and a white rump ending with a black band are characteristic. During flight it is revealed by a white line on the upper side of the black wings. Very long legs are dark, almost black in color. The same also applies to the tip of the bill. The long bill enables the daytime-active Black-tailed Godwit to hunt various invertebrates in shallow water and damp ground. It feeds on various insects and their larvae, mollusks and earthworms. From the tip of the bill to the end of the tail it measures between 36 and 44 cm, and its wingspan is between 62 and 70 cm, therefore it belongs among the largest members of the shorebird group.
The Black-tailed Godwit is a migratory bird that winters at river deltas and floodplains and wetlands along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in Southern Europe and on the Atlantic coast of Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and even in Great Britain. From March to April it can also be observed here in our country in ash-gray winter plumage. Here, during its passage, it rests briefly, then continues to its breeding areas. For breeding it also molts to a more colorful plumage. The brick-red color of the neck and chest blends into a white belly that is black-streaked. The grayish upper side of the wings is enlivened by black patches, edged with a touch of red. The wing tips and their trailing edge are black. The nest is usually built among clumps of reeds in damp meadows, marshes and bogs scattered across Central and Eastern Europe. The breeding of Black-tailed Godwits is a lively event, which is loudly accompanied throughout. In 1990, a pair is believed to have nested at Lake Cerknica, but it usually returns here in its summer plumage during autumn migration.
The number of Black-tailed Godwits is slightly declining, which can be attributed to the loss of their habitats due to drying up.
