Godwits

["Peter Madvig" <>]

Dear birders,

Recently returned from a sojourn in Denmark (where, I might add, some lovely birds were seen), I've been somewhat puzzled over an aspect of size as regards two species of Godwit.

 

On the surface, here in Australia the Bar-tailed is considered larger than the Black-tailed, or is it?

Let's take a look:-

 

                                                       BAR-TAILED GODWIT          BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

                                                        Limosa lapponica                   Limosa limosa

 

The Slater Field Guide                       38-45 cm                               36-43 cm

Pizzey & Knight                                38-46 cm                               36-43 cm

 

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa            38 cm                                    40 cm

Birds of Kenya & Nth Tanzania           15"                                        16"

Collins Birds of Britain & Europe         38 cm                                    42 cm              

Politikens Bird book (Denmark)           37-39 cm                               40-44 cm

   (in Danish, Bar-tailed is 'Little' and Black-tailed is called 'Large'). 

 

And so to HANZAB                            37-39 cm                               40-44 cm !!!!!!

   ( in which other English names also are 'small' and 'large').

 

SO - Hanzab agrees with European and African guides! Are our field guides (and my own observations here) 'wrong'? Subspecies?

My head-scratching started in DK, and you can see why - I started thinking 'they' are wrong, but then the birds appeared to be as written over there (size is, however, subjective).

((I've lined up the columns while typing this, so hope they stay put when I submit this e-mail!)).

 

Over to the experts please, and if discussed previously, my apologies.

Cheers,

Peter Madvig /Beecroft NSW.