From Opus

Photo by A. Meir
Location: Eilat, Israel

Limosa limosa

[edit] Identification

Straight, flesh-coloured bill with dark tip
Greyish legs
Summer Adult Cinnamon-pink head, neck and breast. Brown, streaked black, upperparts. White wing-bar and dark wing tips. The white tail has a black bar at the tip. Belly white, marked with black.
Winter Adult The pink parts become greyish, upperparts greyer and the belly loses the streaks.

[edit] Similar Species

Bar-tailed Godwit whose bill has a slightly upcurved tip.

[edit] Distribution

Photo by Helios
Breeding plumage
Minsmere July 2008

Breeds in northern Palearctic; winters to southern Africa, southern Asia and Australia.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies¹

• L. l. islandica - breeds Iceland, Faroe Islands and Shetland Islands; winters to sw Europe
• L. l. limosa - breeds W Palearctic; winters to sub-Saharan Africa and India
• L. l. melanuroides - breeds E Palearctic; winters to SE Asia, Philippines and Australia

[edit] Habitat

Breeds on temperate freshwater wetlands with open grassland. Winters on estuaries, mudflats and sandy shores. Also freshwater margins.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Flight

Photo by john-henry
Portugal January 2009

Fast and energetic. Outline cross-like

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects, worms, snails, insects, crustaceans, and parts of aquatic plants.

[edit] Breeding

They nest on the ground, usually in short vegetation, laying 3-6 eggs.

[edit] Vocalisation

Flight Call: "wicka-wicka-wicka"

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
2. Animalpictures
3. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
4. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition

[edit] External Links