Sexual and Antagonistic Behaviour of Bar-Tailed Godwits on the Breeding Grounds

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Abstract
Behaviour of Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica was studied in northern Norway. The Ceremonial Flight consists of four phases, of which the Limping Flight had the most striking visual and vocal components. Noisy and conspicuous Pursuit Flights, in which males followed their mates closely, occurred in the pre-laying period and often attracted unmated males. Ground courtship involved raising the tail, and in Erect Courtship the bill pointed slightly upwards. Aggressive postures lacked tail erection, and the bill slanted downwards. Altogether, nine different kinds of vocalizations were recognized, apparently parts of a graded communication system. It is concluded that the Ceremonial Flight mainly has heterosexual functions (signalling unmated status and re-enforcing the pair bond), and that the tail erection in courtship may be an ancestral character.

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