Grey-tailed Tattler

Tringa brevipes

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFishWetlandScrapeMedium · 127 g

ID tip

The grey-tailed tattler is closely related to its North American counterpart, the wandering tattler (T. incana) and is difficult to distinguish from that species. Both tattlers are unique among the species of Tringa for having unpatterned, greyish wings and back, and a scaly breast pattern extending more or less onto the belly in breeding plumage, in which both also have a rather prominent supercilium. These birds resemble common redshanks in shape and size. The upper parts, underwings, face and neck are grey, and the belly is white.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Grey-tailed Tattler

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is September, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Grey-tailed Tattler

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 34 countries with regular records, and 6 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in France, Portugal, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Sweden.

About the Grey-tailed Tattler

The grey-tailed tattler, also known as the Siberian tattler or Polynesian tattler, is a small shorebird in the genus Tringa. The English name for the tattlers refers to their noisy call. 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 brevipes is from Latin brevis, "short", and pes, "foot".

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Grey-tailed Tattler vs Spotted Redshank · Grey-tailed Tattler vs Marsh Sandpiper · Grey-tailed Tattler vs Wandering Tattler · Grey-tailed Tattler vs Nordmann's Greenshank

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