Black-tailed Godwit

Limosa limosa

(L. l. limosa)

Armenian Name:	Մեծ իլիկակտցար

See Plate 27 for Black-tailed Godwit and other similar species

Resident Status:	Year-round visitor
Abundance:	Uncommon
Length:	40-44 cm, Wing Span:70-82 cm
Distribution Map:	Map 123.
Description:	A sandpiper with long straight bill, long legs, black-banded tail, and bold white upperwing stripe, visible in flight.
Adult (Breeding):	Foreparts are orangish with faintly-barred mantle, breast, and belly. Gray back and upperwings with black and orange marbling.
Adult (Non-breeding):	Pale gray with white from belly to undertail.
Juvenile:	Like a pale breeding adult but lacks dark barring on neck and breast.
Similar Species:	Differs from Bar-tailed Godwit by longer legs, black tail band, and in flight, broad white upperwing stripe.
Behavior:	Often forages in belly-deep water by immersing head and probing into soft silt with bill. Gregarious.
Habitat:	Mudflats, lake shores, floodplains.
Food:	Invertebrates, especially insects, some plant material.