Bar-tailed Godwit

Common Name	Bar-tailed GodwitBirdlife International
Species name	Limosa lapponicaBirdlife International
Family	Scolopacidae
Genus
Local Name	Country Appearance Local name Brunei Darussalam     Cambodia     China     Indonesia     Japan Yes オオソリハシシギ Lao PDR     Malaysia     Mongolia     Myanmar     Philippines     Republic of Korea     Singapore     Thailand     Vietnam

 

Visual and Sound Image

Photos

 

Videos

 

Sounds

 

Identification

No descriptions

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Range Description

No descriptions

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Ecology

Ecology (Behaviour)

This species is a full long-distance migrant1. It breeds from late-May to August2 in solitary pairs1, although it may also form small colonies4. After breeding adults disperse to coastal moulting sites, the onward migration to wintering grounds then continuing into October and November2. The species often flies in large flocks2 and forages in groups outside of the breeding season1, occasionally aggregating into huge flocks of several hundreds of thousands of individuals at favoured sites (e.g. in Mauritania)2.

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Habitat

<Breeding> The species breeds in marshy, swampy areas in lowland moss and shrub tundra1, 3, 4 near wet river valleys3, lakes and sedge bogs4, as well as on swampy heathlands in the willow and birch zone near the Arctic treeline3, in open larch Larix spp. woodland close to water1, and occasionally on open bogs in the extreme north of the coniferous forest zone3.
<Non-breeding> On passage the species may frequent inland wetlands2, sandy beaches with pine Pinus spp. stands, swampy lowlands near lakes4 and short-grass meadows, but during the winter it is more common in intertidal areas along muddy coastlines, estuaries, inlets, mangrove-fringed lagoons and sheltered bays1 with tidal mudflats or sandbars3.

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Diet

<Breeding> When breeding the species feeds on insects, annelid worms, molluscs and occasionally seeds and berries1.
<Non-breeding> In intertidal areas the species's diet consists of annelids (e.g. Nereis spp. and Arenicola spp.), bivalves and crustaceans, although it will also take cranefly larvae and earthworms on grasslands and occasionally larval amphibians (tadpoles) and small fish1.

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Breeding Site

The nest is a depression positioned on a dry elevated site1 such as a tundra ridge3 or hummock4, often between clumps of grass1 or under a thicket4.

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References

1. del Hoyo et al. (1996). 2. Hayman et al. (1986). 3. Johnsgard (1981). 4. Flint et al. (1984). 5. Evans (1986). 6. Kelin and Qiang (2006). 7. Melville and Shortridge (2006). 8. Straw and Saintilan (2006).

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Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

LC

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
<Trend justification> The overall population trend is decreasing, although some populations may be stable and others have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2006).

 

National Status

Country	Category	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan	VU	http://www.biodic.go.jp/rdb/rdb_f.html
Korea
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Management

Threat

The species is threatened by the degradation of foraging sites due to land reclamation, pollution, human disturbance1, 6, reduced river flows6 and in some areas the invasion of mudflats and coastal saltmarshes by mangroves (owing to sea-level rise and increased sedimentation and nutrient loads at the coast from uncontrolled development and soil erosion in upstream catchment areas)8. The species is also susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the virus7.

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Information

In the UK there is evidence that the removal of Spartina anglica from tidal mudflats using a herbicide is beneficial for the species5.

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Current Conservation

No descriptions

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Current Conservation

No descriptions

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Legal Protection

Country	Status	Reference
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Lao PDR
Malaysia	Protected Wild Birds Part I: Game Birds	Law of Malaysia Act 76, Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 (Amend. 2006)
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

 

Related Links

 

Range

Geographical Information

Migration Route

 

Asian Waterbird Census

Descriptions

The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was initiated in 1987 and runs in parallel with other waterbird censuses carried out in Africa, Europe, Central and West Asia and Latin America under the umbrella of the International Waterbird Census (IWC), which is organised by Wetlands International.

The AWC takes place annually, during the second and third weeks of January, and is carried out by volunteers interested in collecting information on waterbirds and wetlands as a basis for contributing to their conservation.

Reference: Li, Z.W.D., Bloem, A., Delany S., Martakis G. and Quintero J. O. 2009. Status of Waterbirds in Asia - Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Census Data

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	2	3	3	2	4	4	0	4	4	4	4	5	5	0	0	0	9	0	0	1	0	9
CAMBODIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual											534
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)											2
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	11	0	0	12	12	11	5	1	6	9	6	6
CHINA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual																		39		1	2	155
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)																		2		1	2	3
The total number of count sites	0	1	34	12	50	60	67	29	6	14	6	15	21	20	14	10	22	45	80	81	59	72
INDONESIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual				20	65		103	423	32		18			74	5	20	3008					407
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)				1	3		3	3	3		1			2	1	1	2					2
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	19	8	17	17	15	19	16	0	0	47	12	10	40	34	14	16	15	23
JAPAN	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual											1				8	11	7	7	12	5	7	6
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)											1				7	8	4	5	7	3	6	4
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	53	39	52	47	20	50	40	47	37	41	37	107	112	103	109	97	159	142	137
LAO PDR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	2	4	5	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
MALAYSIA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual				106	585	753	759	1000	4536	1157	25			315	793	481	868	589	787	1174	2192	1217
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)				2	3	3	2	2	3	3	2			2	2	3	4	4	4	7	15	4
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	59	68	93	85	17	10	7	10	0	0	20	25	25	25	43	43	82	82	40
MYANMAR	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual																	101		1	5	247
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)																	3		1	2	4
The total number of count sites	0	5	3	12	17	15	21	20	13	12	2	4	2	0	7	32	47	73	24	31	32	19
PHILIPPINES	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual					159	97	291	384	86	135	100	109	111	216	302	99	76	297	363	567	118	194
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)					3	2	8	7	5	5	2	7	6	7	9	4	7	7	10	4	4	2
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	19	21	34	39	46	47	39	28	29	32	43	38	50	47	56	54	65	108
SINGAPORE	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual							1			1		1		1					5
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)							1			1		1		1					1
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	0	4	12	17	15	13	14	10	10	6	11	10	10	8	9	9	8	8	7
REPUBLIC OF KOREA	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual															1	31	2	8		1
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)															1	1	1	1		1
The total number of count sites	0	0	10	12	22	20	20	15	10	22	25	22	14	68	99	112	118	116	117	123	127	127
THAILAND	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual	169	1			2	200	36	150						275	6			150	1	62	605	147
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)	1	1			1	1	2	1						1	1			1	1	3	6	4
The total number of count sites	10	8	3	20	26	12	23	16	17	5	9	3	1	1	7	3	9	26	20	82	99	33
VIETNAM	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The number of observed individual													29		40			1		2	3
The number of observed sites(not all count sites)													1		1			1		1	2
The total number of count sites	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	4	0	1	1	0	1	8	2	2	16	4	4	9	6	11

 

Population

Descriptions

 

Population Trend

 

Additional Information

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Climate change species distributions

 

Other Information

• Detailed species account from Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status (BirdLife International 2004)