Spotted Redshank
Tringa erythropus
Elegant wader with a long fine bill and long reddish legs (dark on breeding adults). Striking breeding plumage dark overall. Nonbreeding plumage is paler and grayer than smaller and chunkier Common Redshank. In flight often appears dark overall with narrow white oval up middle of back. Breeds in arctic bogs and swamps; migrants occur in varied wetland habitats. Usually seen as singles or small groups, though will sometimes congregate in large flocks, especially on wintering grounds. Feeds mainly by wading in fairly deep water, probing and picking with its bill, at times swimming.
Identification
This is a large wader (shorebird), measuring 29–31 cm (11–12 in) long, with a wingspan of 61–67 cm (24–26 in) and a weight ranging from 121 to 205 g (4.3 to 7.2 oz). It is black in breeding plumage, and very pale in winter. It has a red legs and bill, and shows a white oval on the back in flight. Juveniles are grey-brown finely speckled white above, and have pale, finely barred underparts. Adults moult completely between July and October. In spring, the body plumage is moulted between March and May. Juveniles have a partial moult between August and February. The call is a creaking whistle teu-it (somewhat similar to the call of a roseate tern), the alarm call a kyip-kyip-kyip.
Taxonomy
The spotted redshank was described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Scolopax erythropus.It is a monotypic species, with no recognised subspecies. Taxonomically, it forms a close-knit group with several other large Tringa species, with molecular sequencing showing it to be a sister clade to that containing the greater yellowlegs and the common greenshank.
- Scientific name
- Tringa erythropus
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1764)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Tringa
Range and habitat
The spotted redshank breeds in the Arctic across much of the Palearctic, from Lapland in the west to Chukotskaya in the east.
- Breeding range
- PAL : low Arctic to subarctic wooded tundra of n Palearctic: n, c Scandinavia e through inland Russia to c Chukotskiy Pen. (ne Siberia)
- Non-breeding range
- sw PAL, AF, OR : subtropical to tropical inland and coastal wetlands of Paleotropics (except Australasia): s British Is. and Canary Is. (Macaronesia, w of n Africa) to tropical Africa, Middle East, s, se Asia to se China and Taiwan
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Like most waders, it feeds on small invertebrates.<p>It nests on open boggy taiga, laying four eggs in a ground scrape. For breeding the bird moults to a black to dark grey with white spots. During breeding plumage the legs also turn a dark grey. See image alongside.
Conservation
The spotted redshank is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Breeding male’s trail long streamers are almost double the length of his body. Male comes in rufous and white morphs; both morphs have dark head, weak triangular crest, and blue eyering. Females resemble a non-breeding rufous male, but with a duller blue eyering and slightly paler head. Readily confused with Amur and Indian Paradise-Flycatchers, as well as female Black Paradise-Flycatcher, in areas of overlap. In these regions, note present species’ short rounded crest (vs. longer pointed crest of Indian), and pale rufous undertail on rufous birds (vs. white undertail on Amur and black); rufous birds also gradual gradation of gray on underparts, lacking strong contrast and sharp cutoffs. Note dark wing and central tail feather shaft streaks on white birds. Inhabits evergreen broadleaf forest and forest edge, including secondary growth, gardens, and plantations, in lowlands and foothills. Some populations are migratory. Song is a ringing “wiwiwiwiwiwiwi;” call is a nasal “ji-jeh” or “ji-jeh-jeh.”
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