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Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Alternate name(s): "Greenshank" Size: 30-35 cm; wing span 68-70 cm Body mass: 140-290 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.20/0.42 (lean/fat)

Australia: Family Group 8 Family Group 8 Table Red-backed Button-quail Chestnut-backed Button-quail Little Button-quail Red-chested Button-quail Painted Button-quail Black-breasted Button-quail Ruddy Turnstone Latham's Snipe Swinhoe's Snipe Painted Snipe Asian Dowitcher Bar-tailed Godwit Black-tailed Godwit Hudsonian Godwit Whimbrel Little Curlew Eastern Curlew Eurasian Curlew Pectoral Sandpiper Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Curlew Sandpiper Ruff Red Knot Great Knot Wandering Tattler Grey-tailed Tattler Wood Sandpiper Terek Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Green Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Common Greenshank Marsh Sandpiper Red-necked Stint Long-toed Stint Temminck's Stint Sanderling Broad-billed Sandpiper Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Greenshanks are medium-sized waders. Their plumage is cryptic. When seen in Australia, they are in eclipse plumage. During the non-breeding season they have an entirely white front, from throat to undertail coverts. The back and rump are also white. The cap, sides of the head and neck are white with grey streaking, while the eyes are surrounded by thin white eye-rings. The scapulars are dark-grey with white edge lining. The wings are dark-grey, with whitish edge-lining and a brownish tinge. In-flight they show no wing bar, but a prominent white back and rump and the feet protrude clearly beyond the tail. During the breeding season, the head, neck and chest turn blackish-brown with light streaking. The wings turn almost entirely brown, with some white spots. The eyes have dark irises. The olive-grey bill is slightly upcurved, has a black tip and is longer than the size of the head. The long legs and feet are olive-grey. Juveniles roughly resemble non-breeding adults, but they have a very crisp pattern of dark grey-brown wing feathers with prominent white edge-lining and rather pointed scapulars, giving them a tidier general appearance. Twitcher's tip Compared with other species of small sandpipers and stints, Common Greenshanks are the only waders with long legs found in Australia that also have a long, slightly upcurved bill. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Greenshank at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Greenshank is available HERE . Common Greenshanks are a migratory species. They breed on dry ground near marshy areas in subarctic regions from northern Scotland in the West, via northern Europe into large parts of Asia. They are also found in most parts of the rest of Europe, including the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, around Arabia and along the southern coastlines of most of Asia. They spend the northern winters in Africa (including Madagascar), the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka), South-east Asia, parts of Oceania and Australia, usually around fresh water. In Australia Common Greenshanks migrate from the North around the entire coastal fringe of the continent. They settle mostly in the South-east, i.e. VIC, parts of NSW and eastern SA. After substantial rainfall they will venture further into the semi-arid interior - basically anywhere except the driest part of the continent, i.e. the major sandy deserts of eastern WA. Common Greenshanks can be found in open swamps around freshwater, but also in estuaries.

Sightings Click here for sighting information C. Hayne reports that Common Greenshanks are found regularly, mostly during the spring/summer months, in farm irrigation dams and ephemeral wetlands around Ashley, NSW. They are also found regularly in nearby wetlands within the Gwydir Watercourse Wetlands, often together with Marsh Sandpipers. B. Hensen reports spotting a Common Greenshank at Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in March 2013 and again in August 2013. The species was also spotted at McMinns Lagoon, near Darwin, NT, and at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in November 2018. P. Brown also found a Common Greenshank at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in October 2019. J. Greaves reports spotting Common Greenshanks at Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, in January 2017. M. Eaton reports spotting Common Greenshanks semi-regularly in several locations along the coastline of QLD. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours found a Common Greenshank at the Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, in September 2020. A single Common Greenshank was found by us at the Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, in February 2021. Common Greenshanks were also seen by us in Oman and in Europe.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-lateral view of Common Greenshanks in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in breeding plumage; note the characteristic black spots dissecting the white edge-lining on the wing feathers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, QLD, April 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in near-breeding plumage, just prior to departure to the northern hemisphere
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Machans Beach, Cairns, QLD, October 2024]

Frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Deception Bay, QLD, February 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage, here seen in an eutrophic wetland
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage; click on image to see two Royal Spoonbills for comparison (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Toorbul Wader Roost, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Lateral view of 3 Common Greenshanks in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, February 2021]

Dorsal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Toorbul wader roost, Brisbane, QLD, January 2018]

Various views, including near-dorsal and dorsal/ventral, of 3 Common Greenshanks in non-breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Common Greenshanks in non-breeding plumage feeding on the edge of shallow, probably brackish, water in an estuary
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage with 4 Pied Stilts
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, February 2021]

Lateral view of a Common Greenshank in fresh-looking non-breeding plumage, left, in comparison with a Marsh Sandpiper
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[McMinns Lagoon, near Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of 3 Common Greenshanks in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, June 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage banking to land
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, February 2021]

Dorsal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage in flight, banking to land (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Additional information

More photos have been obtained by us in Oman and in Europe.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ?

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage, hunting under water (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage, hunting under water (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage, hunting under water (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

grnshnk_dw_20190819.m4a	(Poland)	Contact call (arrival)	© DW
grnshnk_dw_20200726_3.m4a	(Poland)	Contact calls	© DW
grnshnk_jp_20201016.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls	© JP
grnshnk_jp_20220115.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© JP
grnshnk_dw_20200726_2.m4a	(Poland)	Contact calls Q&A (+ Wood Sandpiper)	© DW
grnshnk_jp_20200722.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls (+ Common Ringed Plover)	© JP
grnshnk_dw_20190819_3.m4a	(Poland)	Warning calls (humans on the water)	© DW
grnshnk_20240221.m4a	(Australia)	Warning calls (human) (+ Pied Stilt)	© MD
grnshnk_20240221_2.m4a	(Australia)	Warning calls (human) (+ White-winged Fairy-wren)	© MD
grnshnk_dw_20180818.m4a	(Poland)	?	© DW
grnshnk_jp_20230502.mp3	(Portugal)	Various (+ Common Redshank)	© JP

More Common Greenshank sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.