Black-tailed Godwit breeds in wet grassland across a wide range at mid-latitudes in Eurasia, from Iceland to Shetland (ssp islandica), W and C Europe to Russia (nominate ssp limosa), with fragmented distribution further E in Inner Mongolia, E Siberia to Kamchatka and Chukotka. Islandica winters along coasts from Scotland to Iberia, while limosa winters in the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa.