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WetlandCavity nestSmall · 48 g
What the Solitary Sandpiper sounds like
ID tip
This species measures 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan up to 50 cm (20 in) and a body mass of 31–65 g (1.1–2.3 oz). It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark rump and tail centre. The latter feature distinguishes it from the slightly larger and broader-winged, but otherwise very similar, green sandpiper (T. ochropus) of Europe and Asia, to which it is closely related. The latter species has a brilliant white rump.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Solitary Sandpiper
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 5 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Solitary Sandpiper
The map shades 55 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 Norway, France, Sweden, Spain, Iceland, Cape Verde.
About the Solitary Sandpiper
The solitary sandpiper is a small shorebird. 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 solitaria is Latin for "solitary" from solus, "alone".
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Green SandpiperTringa ochropusThis species is a somewhat plump wader with a dark greenish-brown back and wings, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts.
Wood SandpiperTringa glareolaThe 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.
Common GreenshankTringa nebulariaCommon greenshanks are brown in breeding plumage, and grey-brown in winter.
Side by side: Solitary Sandpiper vs Wood Sandpiper · Green Sandpiper vs Solitary Sandpiper · Common Greenshank vs Solitary Sandpiper
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