Common Greenshank

The Common Greenshank is a tall, elegant sandpiper, gray-brown above and white below, with a slightly upturned, blue-gray bill and long, greenish-gray legs that give the species its name. Breeding plumage adds darker streaking and mottling to the upperparts and breast.

It closely resembles its New World counterpart, the Greater Yellowlegs, in shape, size, and general behavior, occupying a similar ecological niche across the Old World.

A wide-ranging species, it breeds across the subarctic taiga and moorland of northern Europe and Asia and winters across an enormous range spanning Africa, southern Asia, and Australia.

Key field marks

• Long, slightly upturned, blue-gray bill
• Long, greenish-gray legs (not bright yellow)
• Gray-brown, lightly mottled upperparts, white below
• White rump and lower back, visible in flight

Similar species

• Greater Yellowlegs (New World) is nearly identical in shape but has bright yellow legs rather than greenish-gray.
• Marsh Sandpiper is smaller and more delicate with a thinner, straighter bill and finer legs.
• Spotted Redshank has red legs and a longer, thinner bill.

Common Greenshanks breed in subarctic taiga forest clearings, bogs, and moorland across northern Europe and Asia, from Scotland eastward through Scandinavia and Siberia. Outside the breeding season they winter across a vast range of wetlands, estuaries, and coastal mudflats in Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Voice

A loud, ringing, three-note call, often rendered as tew-tew-tew, similar in quality to the call of the Greater Yellowlegs and given readily in alarm.

Feeding

Forages in shallow water, often running actively and sweeping its bill side to side to catch small fish, in addition to picking aquatic insects and other invertebrates from mud and water.

Nesting

Nests on the ground near forest bogs or moorland pools, often at the base of a tree stump or amid low vegetation. Both parents share incubation and vigorously defend the nest with alarm calling and distraction displays.