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Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) German name(s): "Dunkelwasserläufer", "Dunkler Wasserläufer" Size: 29-33 cm; wing span 61-67 cm Body mass: 100-230 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.18/0.38 (lean/fat)

Europe: Family Group 8 Family Group 8 Table Ruddy Turnstone Common Snipe Eurasian Woodcock Bar-tailed Godwit Black-tailed Godwit Eurasian Curlew Whimbrel Little Curlew Sanderling Temminck's Stint Little Stint Dunlin Purple Sandpiper Marsh Sandpiper Common Greenshank Common Redshank Spotted Redshank Lesser Yellowlegs Wood Sandpiper Curlew Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Green Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Ruff Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European 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 Spotted Redshanks are medium-sized waders. The two sexes look alike. Their eclipse plumage is cryptic. During the non-breeding season they have an entirely white front, from throat to undertail coverts, possibly with some grey on the upper chest and the flanks. The upperparts are light-grey, with dark spots and white lining on the wing coverts. The tail is barred black and white. The white supercilium is strong in front of the eye, but weak behind the eye. During the breeding season, they are almost all-black, with some silvery-grey spots along the edges of the wing coverts and silvery-grey barring along the flanks and the uppertail. The underwings are mostly grey, with dark leading and trailing edges. The eyes have dark irises. The dark-grey bill with its orange base to the lower mandible is straight, with a subtle downward kink at the tip, and about twice as long as the size of the head. The long legs and feet are carrot-red to dark-red. Juveniles roughly resemble non-breeding adults, but with more brownish hues and uniform barring on the underparts. The legs and feet are yellowish-orange. Twitcher's tip The easiest distinction between a Spotted Redshank and a Common Redshank (in all plumages) is by the length of the bill, the former having a longer bill than the latter. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis etc. 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 Spotted Redshank 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 Spotted Redshank is available HERE . The Spotted Redshank is a strongly migratory species. Its breeding range extends from northern Europe to all of near-coastal northern Asia, up to eastern Siberia. The winter quarters are located in western Europe, the Mediterranean, coastal north-western Africa, tropical Africa, Arabia and southern Asia, including the Indian subcontinent. During their migration they can be found almost anywhere between breeding grounds and winter quarters. In Europe Spotted Redshanks are breeding migrants in inland northern Scandinavia and near-coastal north-western Russia. Their winter quarters are located in southern Ireland and Britain, and on the European continental coastal fringe from the German Wattensee southward to Iberia and along most of the Mediterranean coastline. Anywhere else in between they may be seen during their migration. Spotted Redshanks breed in swamps and bogs in open arctic taiga. Over winter they are usually found in estuaries, especially with mudflats, or other near-coastal wetlands, often with eutrophic and/or brackish water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports spotting Spotted Redshanks on several occasions during the winter months in various estuaries in southern to central Portugal. The species was first found there in 2016. A. Sarok reports finding Spotted Redshanks in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of two Spotted Redshanks, one in breeding plumage, the other in eclipse (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage; note the long bill with the down-curved tip
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Alcochete, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta do Ludo, Ria Formosa, Loule, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2025]

Lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage; note the characteristic downward kink at the tip of the relatively long bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2021]

Lateral view of 2 Spotted Redshanks in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2016]

Comparison of the head profiles of the two species of redshank in non-breeding plumage: Common Redshank on the left; Spotted Redshank on the right (photos courtesy of J. Pires)

Lteral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa dos Patos, Odivelas, Alentejo, Portugal, October 2019]

Lteral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings down; note the characteristic "cigar"-shaped white on the back (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa dos Patos, Odivelas, Alentejo, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa dos Patos, Odivelas, Alentejo, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa dos Patos, Odivelas, Alentejo, Portugal, October 2019]

Dorsal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira Enguias, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage, front left, with various other waders (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, September 2018]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ?

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage gobbling up its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira Enguias, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Redshank in non-breeding plumage with its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira Enguias, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

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.

sptshnk_jp_20200117.m4a

(Portugal)

Alarm/departure

© JP

More Spotted Redshank 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.

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