Bird Guide

Spotted Redshank vs Wandering Tattler

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

Medium158 gGrassland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Philippe_Grange · CC0
Photo: Stephen Matthews · CC0
Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana)

Wandering Tattler

Tringa incana

Medium108 gWetland

The wandering tattler was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Scolopax and coined the binomial name Scolopax incana. Gmelin based his description on the "ash-coloured snipe" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham's specimen had been supplied by the naturalist Joseph Banks.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: TRinaud · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Spotted Redshank and Wandering Tattler.