Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Dark brown sandpiper with a snowy white belly; in flight looks black above with boldly contrasting white rump. Bobs tail when nervous, but not habitually like Common Sandpiper. Often climbs steeply when flushed and flies quickly with deep wingbeats, swooping around a little like a swallow. Breeds in clearings and marshes in wet forest and woodland; migrants occur in fresh and brackish wetland habitats, especially on muddy shores of lakes and small ponds. Mainly found as singles or small groups, not mixed with other species.
Identification
This species is a somewhat plump wader with a dark greenish-brown back and wings, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. The back is spotted white to varying extents, being maximal in the breeding adult, and less in winter and young birds. The legs and short bill are both dark green.<p>It is conspicuous and characteristically patterned in flight, with the wings dark above and below and a brilliant white rump. The latter feature reliably distinguishes it from the slightly smaller but otherwise very similar solitary sandpiper (T. solitaria) of North America.<p>In flight it has a characteristic three-note whistle.
Taxonomy
The green sandpiper was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Tringa ochropus. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific ochropus is from Ancient Greek okhros, "ochre", and pous, "foot". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Tringa ochropus
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Tringa
Range and habitat
The green sandpiper breeds across subarctic Europe and east across the Palearctic and is a migratory bird, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and tropical Africa. Food is small invertebrate items picked off the mud as this species works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.<p>This is not a gregarious species, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. Green sandpiper is very much a bird of freshwater, and is often found in sites too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.
- Breeding range
- PAL : subarctic to temperate zone taiga wetlands of Palearctic: Scandinavia (except far n) s to Germany, e to e Sakha Republic (ne Siberia), s through n, e Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, w, nw Xinjiang (nw China), n Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (ne China)
- Non-breeding range
- sw PAL, AF, OR : temperate to tropical inland and coastal wetlands of Palearctic: s British Is. to Canary Is. (Macaronesia, w of n Africa), Africa (except far s), Middle East, s, se Asia to Malay Pen., e China, n, w Philippines, Taiwan, Korean Pen. and e, s Japan
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Pallid Spinetail
Cranioleuca pallida
Small, acrobatic spinetail found in the canopy of montane forests; especially fond of epiphytes. Usually accompanies mixed-species flocks. Sandy brown overall with a rufous crown, tail, and wings. Note the well-marked eyebrow and dark ear coverts. Similar to Olive Spinetail, but with rufous (not brown) crown. The song is a fast and high-pitched trill.
Swierstra's Spurfowl
Pternistis swierstrai
Rare and unusual francolin that is endemic to Angola. Note the red bill and legs, mostly white face, black breast band, and black-striped white underparts. Found very locally in montane forest and along forest edge, often in rocky and grassy areas. Shy and elusive. The common vocalization is a series of rough “kurr-kraak” calls that become louder and more emphatic, then fade away. Distinguished from other francolins in its range by the bold white face and black breast band.
Indian Robin
Copsychus fulicatus
A nondescript robin; males are primarily black with chestnut bottom feathers, although males in the northern population have brownish upperparts. Males also have a white shoulder patch and a relatively long tail. Females have completely brown upperparts, lack the male’s white shoulder patch, and have grayish-brown underparts. They are generally seen in pairs, foraging on the ground with the tail cocked up. Found in open country, at forest edges, around human habitation, and in scrub lands.
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