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  In flight

Cranes & Waders

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

• uncommon
• 40 km/h
• Least Concern

Goes coal-black in breeding plumage — unrecognizable from its winter self. Two birds for the price of one delivery.

Population

roughly 110,000-350,000 individuals globally (2006 estimate, considered stable)

Habitat

Breeds on wooded/shrubby tundra, boggy taiga edges and heathland with scattered trees; outside breeding season uses large muddy estuaries, brackish coastal lagoons, and freshwater marshes and lakes

Fun fact

The Spotted Redshank is unique among Tringa sandpipers for turning almost entirely sooty-black in breeding plumage, a transformation so dramatic from its pale grey winter dress that its dark red legs and namesake 'red foot' (from Greek erythros + pous) are one of the few features linking the two looks.

Range

Breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Siberia east to the Chukotsky Peninsula; winters from the Mediterranean basin and sub-Saharan Africa across the Middle East and southern Asia to southeastern China and Taiwan, with occasional vagrants reaching Australia and North America

Diet

Aquatic and terrestrial insects and their larvae, plus crustaceans, molluscs, worms, small fish and amphibians, often caught by wading and scything the bill side-to-side through shallow water

Size

0.305 m

Wingspan

0.64 m

Lifespan

7 years