Godwit (bird)
Godwit (bird)
Godwit is a genus of birds of the snipe family, Scolopacidae, with very long bill, slightly curved upward, and long slender legs, with a great part of the tibia bare. All the species frequent marshes and shallow waters, chiefly those of the sea coast, where they seek their food like snipes by wading and by plunging the long bill into the water or mud. They sometimes also run after small crustaceans or other animals, and catch them on the sands from which tide has retired. Like many of their allies, they are valued as food. Two cinnamon-tinged species, the black-tailed Hudsonian (Limosa haemattica) and the marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa) visit the coastal and inland waters of the United States in winter, and the latter breeds throughout the northern interior of the country. On the Pacific Coast occurs a variety of the common European godwit. (Limosa lapponica).
