Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) is a large long-legged wader with straight bill, orange breeding head and breast, and bold black-and-white wings. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in wet grasslands and marshes and probes for worms and insects on inland wetlands and estuaries during migration. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).