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Green Sandpiper
(Tringa ochropus)
Size: 21-24 cm; wing span 57-61 cm
Weight: 53-112 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Green Sandpipers are small waders.
Their plumage
is cryptic.
When seen in Arabia, they are usually in
non-breeding
plumage.
During the
non-breeding
season they have a grey head, except for
some light striation on the throat and white eye-rings. The
upper chest is greyish-brown. The rest of the front, from
the lower chest to the undertail coverts, is white. The
crown, nape of the neck and back are greyish-brown, with
sparse white speckles on mantle and wings.
In-flight they do not show a wing bar, but a white rump and
uppertail with three black bars.
During the breeding season, head and neck show more white
streaking and the spot pattern on the back becomes bolder,
although the differences are subtle.
The eyes have dark irises. The olive-grey bill has a dark-grey
tip, is straight and a bit longer than the size of the head.
The legs and feet are olive-grey.
In flight the toes of the feet protrude beyond the tip of the tail.
Juveniles
roughly resemble
non-breeding
adults, but they have a darker general appearance, less prominent
eye-rings and a tidier spot pattern.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared with Common
Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers are larger and do not have white
shoulder bars or wing bars.
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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Green
Sandpiper at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of the Green Sandpiper is available
HERE
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Green Sandpipers are a strongly migratory species.
They breed throughout subarctic Europe and Asia and spend the
northern winters in southern Europe, parts of Arabia, the
Indian subcontinent, South-east Asia, and tropical Africa.
In Arabia they are usually found during their migration between
Africa and Asia. During their stopovers they feed in
freshwater habitats, e.g. around lakes and ponds, also
sewage treatment works, i.e. mostly on the near-coastal
fringe, including the North coast of Oman.
Green Sandpipers have a strong preference for fresh water
habitats, often in wooded areas, such as bogs and marshes.
On migration they are also often found in roadside ditches
and the edges of ponds, again often with concealing vegetation.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Green Sandpipers have been spotted by us on the
Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in
the time fame August-October 2009.
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Twitcher's tip |
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For those who have difficulties telling Green Sandpipers and
Common
Sandpipers apart, there is a photo below showing
both species together.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Near-frontal view of a Green Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]
Lateral view of a Green Sandpiper in non-breeding
plumage
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]
Green Sandpiper seen in different light conditions
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]
Green Sandpiper on the hunt
Green Sandpiper stalking prey in shallow water
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]
Green Sandpiper (left) and Common Sandpiper (right) seen
next to each other
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]
This Green Sandpiper is having its rest on-shore
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]
This Green Sandpiper prefers to sit on a stone surrounded by water
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]
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Food, Diet |
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Like other members of the Tringa, Xenus and Actitis families we have seen
Green Sandpipers hunt insects, other small animals and also small fish along
the edges of shallow water. Green Sandpipers were seen by us around fresh
water.
Green Sandpiper trying to swallow a fish, but it is a tight fit
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]
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.