Today we present a bird that is all beak, the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica).
They’re a type of Sandpiper, a bird that spends its life in tidal zones, estuaries and mudflats. In these squelchy places, it uses its overgrown beak to probe the sand in search of worms and crustaceans.
But I know what you’re thinking: what does the word ‘Godwit’ mean? And that’s a great question, the answer to which no-one really knows. Sadly, it doesn’t have the wit of a deity. There are two leading theories: it could refer to the sound they make; or it could be derived from the Old English ‘god whit’, meaning good creature, which could be a reference to how tasty they are. Apparently back in the day, they were a delicacy on English dinner tables.
The Bar-tailed Godwit is rather cosmopolitan, and can be found throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. But each summer they all converge on the Artic Circle to breed and raise their chicks. And this is where the truly remarkable part of their story begins.
Not only is the Bar-tailed Godwit a migratory bird, but they are the superstar of migratory birds. The ones that live in New Zealand hold the record for the longest non-stop flight. Each year these birds that are no bigger than a football make one non-stop flight from their breeding grounds in Alaska clear across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. It takes them nine days of non-stop flying to cover 11,000 kilometres.
During that flight they rest by sleeping one hemisphere of their brain at a time so they don’t need to stop. While these birds are super strong (I’ve heard them once described as flying bricks) they combine this strength with morbid obesity. To fuel their journey, they pack on the pounds, literally doubling their weight before the flight. If a human tried to prepare for a marathon by doubling their weight in fat, you’d say they were insane, and yet a plump Godwit is in peak physical form.
The way birds pull of their migration is mind blowing, and no two species do it in the same way. I’ve taken a deep dive to explore the mysteries of avian migration, so if you’d like to learn more about the Godwit and the hundreds of other birds that have their own incredible journeys then why not join me for a story (Apple, Spotify).
09/01/2022
Bird of the Week 