BIRD #30 OF 45

Bar-tailed Godwit

The Bar-tailed Godwit is an extraordinary migratory shorebird, famous for making one of the longest non-stop flights of any animal on Earth. Every year, thousands travel from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to spend the summer along Australia’s coasts.

You’ll often spot them feeding on tidal mudflats and sandy shorelines.

  • HABITAT

    Mudflats, estuaries, sandy beaches, coastal wetlands

  • CONSERVATION STATUS

    Near Threatened (NT)

  • LOCATION

    WA, NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS

  • HOW TO SPOT IT

    🪶 Medium-sized shorebird with long legs and a very long, slightly upturned bill
    🤎 Mottled brown upperparts with a pale belly (non-breeding plumage)
    ✈️ Long, pointed wings built for migration
    🌊 Usually seen probing mud or sand for worms and shellfish

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Some Bar-tailed Godwit’s fly more than 13,000 kilometres non-stop across the Pacific Ocean without landing to eat, drink or rest, one of the longest continuous migrations ever recorded.