Bird Guide

Common Greenshank vs Wood Sandpiper

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Medium187 gWetland

Common greenshanks are brown in breeding plumage, and grey-brown in winter. When in water, they can appear very similar to marsh sandpipers but are distinguished by the shape of the lower bill which gives it an upturned appearance to the bill. They have long greenish legs and a long bill with a grey base. They show a white wedge on the back in flight. They are somewhat larger than the related common redshank. The usual call is a rapid series of three short fluty notes syllabilized as teu-teu-teu. Like most waders, they feed on small invertebrates, but will also take small fish and amphibians.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Common Greenshank
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call, flight call, song · Cabane Vauban (near Carolles), Manche, Normandie, France · CC0
Photo: blondinrikard · CC BY 2.0
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola

Medium62 gWetland

The wood sandpiper resembles a longer-legged, more delicate form of the aforementioned green sandpiper (T. ochropus), or a solitary sandpiper (T. solitaria), albeit with a shorter, finer bill, brown back and longer yellowish legs. The wood sandpiper differs from the green by having a smaller, less contrasting white rump-patch, while the solitary sandpiper has no rump-patch, at all. However, the wood sandpiper is not closely related to these two species; its closest relative is the common redshank (T. totanus), with which it shares a sister relationship with the marsh sandpiper (T.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Wood Sandpiper
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Flight call, song · Arrondissement of Avranches (near Vains), Manche, Normandy, France · CC0
Photo: Renz0903 · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Common Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper.