Justification Although this species is widespread and has a large global population, its numbers have declined rapidly in parts of its range owing to changes in agricultural practices. Overall, the global population is estimated to be declining at such a rate that the species qualifies as Near Threatened.

Family/Sub-family Scolopacidae

Species name author (Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Christidis and Boles (1994), Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994), Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993), SACC (2005 + updates), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996), Turbott (1990)

Identification 40-44cm. Large rather graceful wader, with long bill on a relatively small head, long neck and long legs. Colour of fore-body is dull pink-chestnut in summer, paler grey-brown in winter. In flight has a striking white wing-bar and rump. Similar spp. Unmistakeable in flight but sometimes difficult to separate from L. lapponica when on ground at distance. Told from the latter by its distinctive bill structure and much leggier and more erect appearance. Voice High-pitched, nasal, rather strident calls given during breeding season, most common of which is a weeka-weeka-weeka. Characteristic call of birds in flocks is a softer kip kip... or chut chut...

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

630,000 - 805,000

decreasing

7,180,000 km²

No

Range & population Limosa limosa has a large discontinuous breeding range extending from Iceland to the Russian far east, with wintering populations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia¹. It occurs as three subspecies, L. l. islandica, L. l. limosa, and L. l. melanuroides. L. l. islandica breeds predominantly in Iceland, with much smaller numbers in the Faeroe Islands, Shetland (United Kingdom) and the Lofoten Islands (Norway). L. l. limosa breeds across a wide area extending from Western and Central Europe to central Asia and Asiatic Russia as far east as the river Yenisey. L. l. melanuroides breeds in disjunct populations in Mongolia, northern China, Siberia (Russia) and the Russian far east. The species migrates across a broad front and has wintering grounds extending from the Republic of Ireland to Australia, encompassing the Mediterranean, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of the Middle East, India, Indochina, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. The global population has recently been estimated at 634,000-805,000 individuals^5. Population trends vary in different parts of its range. There have been large and well-documented declines in mainland Europe (e.g. in The Netherlands, where the population in has decreased dramatically from 120,000-135,000 pairs in 1969, 85,000-100,000 pairs in 1989-1991 to 62,000 pairs in 2004)^6,7,16 and in the species's Australian wintering grounds⁸, which hold c.50% of the wintering population of L. l. melanuroides⁹. However, in Central Asia the breeding population appears to be stable or fluctuating¹⁰, and in Iceland numbers are increasing (although at 37,000-47,000 individuals this subpopulation is only a small part of the global population)⁵. A recent analysis based on published literature, survey data and expert opinions from throughout the species's range suggests that, overall, the global population may have declined at a rate approaching 30% over the last 15 years¹¹.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: Behaviour This species is highly gregarious and migrates on a broad front, making long-distance flights,often overland between relatively few staging and wintering areas¹. It breeds from April to mid-June in loose, semi-colonial groups of up to 3 pairs per ha¹⁵. Non-breeding birds remain in flocks, often near to the breeding colonies¹⁸. As soon as the young fledge, breeding birds begin to congregate in loose flocks of up to 500 individuals¹⁸. The species migrates southwards between late-June and October¹. During the autumn migration it may roost in flocks of tens of thousands in favoured sites¹, and many adults pause in North Morocco in July to moult¹⁸. Huge flocks occur at some wintering sites, particularly in the floodplains of Lake Chad¹⁸. Elsewhere (eg Morocco) flocks are smaller¹⁸. The return passage occurs between February and April¹, and birds arrive at the breeding grounds in groups of 5-30 individuals¹⁷. Many one-year-old birds remain in the wintering range during the summer¹. During the winter and migration the species usually forages gregariously¹. Habitat Breeding In its breeding range it mostly inhabits areas with high grass and soft soil^1,17, occasionally using sandy areas¹⁷. Its preferred habitats include cattle pastures, hayfields¹⁷, lowland wet grasslands, grassy marshland, raised bogs and moorland, lake margins and damp grassy depressions in steppe¹. Subspecies islandica shows a distinct preference for large patches of dwarf-birch bog and marsh, particularly with abundant sedge-pools^1,15. Extensive farmland habitats are of critical importance for breeding Western European populations¹. After the young have fledged, adults and fledgelings often move to secondary habitat which more closely resembles that of their non-breeding range, including wet damp areas around fish-ponds and sewage farms, tidal marshes, mud flats and salt-water lagoons^2,18. Non-breeding Subspecies limosa tends to winter in freshwater habitats¹, including swampy lake shores, pools, flooded grassland and irrigated rice fields¹. Subspecies islandica and melanuroides, however, often winter in brackish habitats¹ such as sheltered estuaries and lagoons with large intertidal mudflats¹⁷, sandy beaches, salt-marshes and salt-flats¹. Diet Its diet consists of adult and larval insects (especially beetles), annelid and polychaete worms, molluscs, ragworms, crustaceans, spiders, fish eggs, and the spawn and tadpoles of frogs^1,17. On the breeding grounds grasshoppers and other orthopterans are often prevalent in the diet¹⁷. Particularly during the winter and on migration it will also take plant material including berries, seeds and rice grains^1,18. On its wintering grounds in Portugal, the bivalve Scrobicularia plana has been found to represent its primary food source²³. Breeding site The nest is placed on the ground in short, often luxurious vegetation^1,17,18. It consists of a shallow scrape 12-15cm in diameter, lined with a thick mat of stem grass, leaves and other available vegetation¹⁸. Breeding birds show a high degree of nest site fidelity¹ and some degree of natal philopatry²⁴. .

Threats Loss of nesting habitat owing to wetland drainage and agricultural intensification, and conversely, abandonment, are the most significant threats¹³. Detrimental activities include the conversion of wet meadows to arable land, increased fertilisation and drainage of grassland, artificial flooding of nesting habitats, earlier and more frequent cutting, spring burning and overgrowing by scrub^2,3,13. On intensively grazed pastures, trampling is a major cause of nest loss. Habitat fragmentation may cause particular problems for this species, which nests in dispersed colonies and sub-colonies as protection against predators and may be unlikely to breed successfully in small areas of habitat. Hunting is another significant threat. In the European Union (EU), only France continues to legally hunt this species, although a small amount of illegal hunting occurs elsewhere¹². Annual bag statistics indicate that c. 1,000 Black-tailed Godwits are shot each year, down from >100,000 per year in 1980-1990¹². Outside the EU, for example on the African wintering grounds, hunting is known to occur but its scale and impact is unknown. Water pollution is probably an issue in parts of the species's range⁴, and drought in the West African wintering quarters may have had negative impacts on the mainland European population². The Icelandic population is potentially at risk from the policy of the Icelandic government to encourage afforestion of the lowland habitats where they breed¹². Juvenile birds which select good wintering sites also select good breeding sites¹⁴, therefore maintaining high quality wintering sites is crucial to raising productivity on breeding grounds and slowing the rate of decline. There is a marked decrease in the density of breeding birds near to roads, particularly those with heavy traffic^20,21. The occurance of natal philopatry means that a decrease in local recruitment could prove catastrophic for individual breeding sites²⁴.

Conservation measures underway An EU Management Plan for 2007-2009 has been adopted, and an AEWA Action Plan is in preparation. Intensive management of breeding habitat has been carried out in some Western European countries⁴, and a number of agri-environment schemes focus on this species, although results have been mixed^{12,13, 19,22}. It occurs in a number of protected areas.

Conservation measures proposed Obtain more quantitative data on status, population trends and conservation requirements outside Europe. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of current conservation action. In the EU, use a mixture of agri-environment schemes and large reserves to secure protection and appropriate management of breeding habitat. Establish nature reserves on important breeding sites throughout the species's range. Manage existing reserves appropriately (prescriptions include avoiding drainage of existing wet meadows, raising water tables where necessary, low-level use of organic fertiliser, low intensity grazing, late mowing, and prevention of succession to bushy vegetation; winter flooding is sometimes recommended but may reduce numbers of invertebrate prey¹⁴). Ensure that migratory staging posts and winter feeding habitats and roosts are conserved and monitored. Place a temporary ban on hunting throughout the EU until there is clear evidence that the population has returned to a favourable conservation status, and effectively enforce it. Collaborate with farmers and hunters, carrying out environmental education and outreach work where appropriate. Prevent afforestation of lowland breeding habitat in Iceland. Prevent a loss of key breeding areas due to abandonment of grasslands and meadows in East Europe and Russian far east.

References 1. del Hoyo et al. (1996). 2. Tucker and Heath (1994). 3. A. van Dijk in litt. (2005). 4. H. Hötker in litt. (2005). 5. Wetlands International (in press). 6. Tucker and Heath (1994). 7. BirdLife International (2004a). 8. S. Garnett in litt. (2005). 9. Watkins (1993). 10. L. Belyalova et al. in litt. (2005). 11. I. Burfield in litt. (2005). 12. S. Nagy in litt. (2005). 13. A. Mischenko in litt. (2007). 14. Gunnarsson et al. (2005). 15. Gunnarsson et al. (2006). 16. EU Technical Report 19 (2007). 17. Johnsgard (1981). 18. Cramp et al. (1983). 19. Verhulst et al. (2007). 20. van der Zande et al. (1980). 21. Reijnen et al. (1996). 22. Musters et al. (2001). 23. Moreira (1994). 24. Kruk et al. (1998). 17. Johnsgard (1981). 18. Cramp et al. (1983). 19. Verhulst et al. (2007). 20. van der Zande et al. (1980). 21. Reijnen et al. (1996). 22. Musters et al. (2001). 23. Moreira (1994). 24. Kruk et al. (1998).

Further web sources of information

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

Text account compilers Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Jonathan Ekstrom (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Lucy Malpas (BirdLife International), Helen Temple (BirdLife International)

Contributors L. Belyalova, Ian Burfield (BirdLife International - European Division), Stephen Garnett (Charles Darwin University), Jenny Gill (University of East Anglia), Herman Hötker (Naturschutzbund Deutschland), Hans Krüse (Vogelbescherming Nederland), Alexander L. Mischenko (Russian Bird Conservation Union), Szabolcs Nagy (BirdLife International - European Division), Arend van Dijk (SOVON Vogelonderzoek Nederland)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Limosa limosa. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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