Listen to the Black-tailed godwit
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Black-tailed godwit
The Black-tailed godwit is a bird in the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “near threatened”. Adults have a wingspan of about 76 cm and weigh around 264 g.
What does the Black-tailed godwit sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as alarm call, flight call and song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
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.
More from the family Scolopacidae
Eurasian woodcock
Scolopax rusticola
Common redshank
Tringa totanus
Common snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Eurasian curlew
Numenius arquata
Common greenshank
Tringa nebularia
Eurasian whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Green sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Wood sandpiper
Tringa glareola
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Spotted redshank
Tringa erythropus
Temminck's stint
Calidris temminckii
Frequently asked questions
What does a Black-tailed godwit sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the Black-tailed godwit on this page, including its alarm call, flight call and song. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the Black-tailed godwit endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-tailed godwit as “near threatened”.
What family does the Black-tailed godwit belong to?
The Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.
Sources & credits
- Alarm call, flight call · Mangalajodi, Khordha, Odisha by Sudipto Roy – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Lies, Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands by Pascal Christe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q18841 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Black-tailed godwit – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by W. Bulach – CC BY-SA 4.0