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8

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Alternate name(s): "Greenshank" Size: 30-35 cm; wing span 65-70 cm Weight: 130-270 g

Oman: Family Group 8 Family Group 8 Table Ruddy Turnstone Green Sandpiper Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Terek Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Common Greenshank Marsh Sandpiper Bar-tailed Godwit Black-tailed Godwit Whimbrel Eurasian Curlew Temminck's Stint Sanderling Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names 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 Arabia, 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. 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 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 Arabia Common Greenshanks are found mainly during passage between Africa and Asia, but some birds stay through the winter. With their preference for aquatic habitats, they are usually found around the (near-)coastal fringe of the peninsula, including the coastline of Oman. Common Greenshanks can be found in open swamps around freshwater, but also in estuaries.

Sightings Click here for sighting information A Common Greenshank was spotted by us on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in September 2009. Another was found by us around water puddles in an otherwise dry riverbed (wadi) at Qurm, near Muscat, Oman, in December 2009. Common Greenshanks were also seen by us in Australia and in Europe.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Lateral view of the same Common Greenshank as above
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Dorsal view of a Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Comparison between a preening Common Greenshank in non-breeding plumage, left, and a Green Sandpiper
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Additional information

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

Food, Diet

Like other members of the Tringa, Xenus and Actitis families we have seen Common Greenshanks hunt insects and other small animals along the edges of shallow water. Common Greenshanks were seen by us around fresh water.

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_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_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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 23 May 2023, 23:08 +00:00