Green Sandpiper
Encyclopedia
The Green Sandpiper is a small wader
(shorebird) of the Old World
. It represents an ancient lineage of the genus Tringa
; its only close living relative is the Solitary Sandpiper
(T. solitaria). They both have brown wings with little light dots and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern. In addition, both species nest in trees, unlike most other scolopacids
.
Given its basal
position in Tringa, it is fairly unsurprising that suspected cases of hybridisation between this species and the Common Sandpiper
(A. hypoleucos) of the sister genus Actitis have been reported.
_w_img_6454.jpg)
This species is a somewhat plump wader
with a dark greenish-brown back and wings, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. The back is spotted white to varying extents, being maximal in the breeding adult, and less in winter and young birds. The legs and short bill are both dark green.
It is conspicuous and characteristically patterned in flight, with the wings dark above and below and a brilliant white rump. The latter feature reliably distinguishes it from the slightly smaller but otherwise very similar Solitary Sandpiper
(T. solitaria) of North America
.
In flight it has a characteristic three-note whistle.
and Asia
and is a migratory
bird
, wintering in southern Europe and Asia, and tropical Africa
. Food is small invertebrate items picked off the mud as this species works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.
This is not a gregarious species, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. Green Sandpiper is very much a bird of freshwater
, and is often found in sites too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.
It lays 2–4 eggs in an old tree nest of another species, such as a Fieldfare
(Turdus pilaris). The clutch
takes about three weeks to hatch.
The Green Sandpiper is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
) applies. Widely distributed and not uncommon, it is not considered a threatened species
by the IUCN.
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
(shorebird) of the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
. It represents an ancient lineage of the genus Tringa
Tringa
Tringa is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the Green Sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern...
; its only close living relative is the Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
The Solitary Sandpiper is a small wader .-Description:This species measures long, with a wingspan up to and a body mass of . 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...
(T. solitaria). They both have brown wings with little light dots and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern. In addition, both species nest in trees, unlike most other scolopacids
Scolopacidae
The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...
.
Given its basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
position in Tringa, it is fairly unsurprising that suspected cases of hybridisation between this species and the Common Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
(A. hypoleucos) of the sister genus Actitis have been reported.
Description
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
with a dark greenish-brown back and wings, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. The back is spotted white to varying extents, being maximal in the breeding adult, and less in winter and young birds. The legs and short bill are both dark green.
It is conspicuous and characteristically patterned in flight, with the wings dark above and below and a brilliant white rump. The latter feature reliably distinguishes it from the slightly smaller but otherwise very similar Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
The Solitary Sandpiper is a small wader .-Description:This species measures long, with a wingspan up to and a body mass of . 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...
(T. solitaria) of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
In flight it has a characteristic three-note whistle.
Distribution and ecology
It breeds across subarctic EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and is a migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, wintering in southern Europe and Asia, and tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Food is small invertebrate items picked off the mud as this species works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.
This is not a gregarious species, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. Green Sandpiper is very much a bird of freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
, and is often found in sites too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.
It lays 2–4 eggs in an old tree nest of another species, such as a Fieldfare
Fieldfare
The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...
(Turdus pilaris). The clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
takes about three weeks to hatch.
The Green Sandpiper is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 at The Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999 after the required number of at least fourteen...
) applies. Widely distributed and not uncommon, it is not considered a threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
by the IUCN.
External links
- Green Sandpiper, Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
- Green Sandpiper, Avibase