Bar-Tailed Godwit Diet and Size: Feeding Habits, Predators, and Measurements
To prepare for their long migrations, Bar-tailed Godwits have developed the ability to shrink their digestive organs, allowing them to lighten their bodies and conserve energy.
This process, referred to as “gut atrophy,” helps them carry more fat, which is essential for sustaining their long flights. This process highlights the deep connection between a bird’s diet, physiology, and its capability to undertake such extensive travels.
Table of Contents
The Dietary Habits Of The Bar-Tailed Godwit
Let’s take a closer look at what the Bar-Tailed Godwit eats throughout the year and how they feed their young during the breeding season.
What Does A Bar-Tailed Godwit Eat?
The diet of Bar-tailed Godwits is mostly carnivorous, but it shifts depending on the time of year and where they are. While breeding in the Arctic tundra, they consume insects and small berries.
In coastal mudflats and estuaries, where they live when not breeding, they consume a variety of invertebrates, like molluscs, small crustaceans, and worms.
These birds often find their food by carefully probing sandy, soft, or muddy surfaces with their long, sensitive bills to find and seize their prey.
What To Feed A Baby Bar-Tailed Godwit?
Adult bar-tailed godwits provide their young with a diet much like their own, consisting mostly of insects and small invertebrates found in coastal areas.
When breeding season comes around in the Arctic tundra, the abundance of insects becomes a critical food source. The chicks, being precocial, can start eating on their own just days after hatching. This diet is essential for their rapid development during the fleeting Arctic summer.
Breeding Habits Of Bar-Tailed Godwits
Bar-tailed Godwits are known for their fascinating breeding practices, primarily taking place in the Arctic parts of Europe, North America, and Asia. These birds usually breed in the tundra, where they establish their territories during the season. The males often perform flight displays and vocalisations to attract females, frequently participating in courtship activities such as grooming each other.
After pairing up, they build a nest on the ground, generally in a slight hollow cushioned with moss or vegetation. Both the male and female equally share duties, from keeping the eggs warm to caring for the chicks after they hatch.
The breeding season coincides with the fleeting Arctic summer, which allows the chicks to grow fast and get ready for their migration. Bar-tailed Godwits are highly social and tend to gather in large flocks when it’s not breeding season.
Do Bar-Tailed Godwits Mate For Life?
It’s common for Bar-tailed Godwits to form seasonal pair bonds during breeding, but they don’t usually stay with the same mate for life. Each breeding season brings new courtship displays and the formation of pairs, but these partnerships often end after the season concludes, as the birds embark on their long migrations.
This pattern is seen in many migratory bird species, where the difficulties of migration and varying survival chances typically lead to new pairings each year. That said, some Bar-tailed Godwits might meet up with the same partner again if they come back to the same breeding grounds, but this isn’t a guarantee or a habitual behaviour.
The Size & Weight Of Bar-Tailed Godwits
Let’s look at the size and weight of Bar-tailed Godwits, including the differences between males and females.
How Much Does A Bar-Tailed Godwit Weigh?
The weight of Bar-tailed Godwits ranges from 230 to 455 grams, with a notable difference between males and females. Typically, females are heavier, a characteristic shared by many bird species.
How Big Is A Bar-Tailed Godwit?
Measuring 37 to 40 cm (14.5 to 15.7 inches) in body length and wingspans stretching between 70 to 80 cm (27.6 to 31.5 inches), Bar-tailed Godwits are medium to large-sized wading birds.
What makes these birds distinctive is their shorter legs compared to other godwit species. There’s a slight difference in size between males and females, with females generally being just a bit larger.
Are Bar-Tailed Godwits Under Threat?
The IUCN Red List currently labels the Bar-tailed Godwit as “Near Threatened” (NT) due to concerns over its decreasing population. Habitat loss, notably in essential migratory and wintering areas, plays a significant role in this decline. The ongoing degradation of coastal wetlands, which are crucial during their long migrations, is a major threat to their survival.
Their Arctic breeding grounds are heavily affected by climate change, causing additional strain on the population. As they rely on specific habitats during migration and breeding, they become particularly vulnerable to these environmental changes and human activities.
The UK lists Bar-tailed Godwits as amber, highlighting a significant conservation concern due to a decrease in their numbers, most notably in certain wintering spots. This status points to the need for ongoing monitoring and protection.
What Eats A Bar-Tailed Godwit?
Nesting and breeding seasons bring the greatest danger to Bar-tailed Godwits from natural predators. Arctic foxes, commonly found in the tundra, present the most significant threat, endangering both eggs and chicks.
Large gulls and skuas are known to target the eggs and young chicks of godwits, exploiting their habit of nesting on the ground. Birds of prey, including peregrine falcons, may also hunt adult and juvenile godwits, particularly during their migration.
The godwits’ early life stages are particularly vulnerable to predators, adding to the natural challenges they face in the harsh conditions of their Arctic breeding grounds.
Where Can I See Bar-Tailed Godwits In The UK?
During the winter, Bar-tailed Godwits make their way to several key UK sites from the Arctic. The Wash, which spans Norfolk and Lincolnshire, is particularly important, with thousands of these birds occupying the mudflats. The Thames Estuary and Solent are other important wintering areas where large groups of them feed on the mudflats.
Known for its spectacular wader displays, Snettisham in Norfolk offers a great view of Bar-tailed Godwits, especially when the tide is high. Similarly, the Essex estuaries, including the Blackwater and the Colne, are prime winter destinations for spotting these birds.
SEE ALSO: Bar-Tailed Godwit Life Cycle: Nest Building To Fledging (and everything in between)
Frequently Asked Questions
Bar-Tailed Godwits are not currently classified as endangered, but they are listed as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List due to a decreasing population, largely driven by habitat loss and climate change.
A Bar-Tailed Godwit primarily eats invertebrates such as molluscs, small crustaceans, and worms, with their diet varying based on the season and habitat. During the breeding season in the Arctic, they also consume insects and small berries.
A Bar-Tailed Godwit measures between 37 to 40 cm in length, with a wingspan ranging from 70 to 80 cm. Females are generally slightly larger than males.
The predators of Bar-Tailed Godwits include Arctic foxes, large gulls, skuas, and birds of prey such as peregrine falcons. These predators pose the greatest threat during the breeding season when the godwits nest on the ground.
