Grey-tailed Tattler

Overview

The grey-tailed tattler, also known as the Siberian or Polynesian tattler, is a small shorebird in the genus Tringa. It is the Asian counterpart to the wandering tattler and is named for its noisy call. This species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Resembles common redshanks in shape and size, with unpatterned greyish upper parts, underwings, face, and neck, and a white belly.
• Features short yellowish legs and a bill with a pale base and dark tip, along with a weak supercilium.
• Produces a distinctive disyllabic whistle that differentiates it from the wandering tattler's rippling trill.

Habitat

Breeding occurs in stony riverbeds in northeast Siberia, where these birds nest on the ground and sometimes perch in trees. They migrate to muddy and sandy coasts in southeast Asia and Australia for the winter, though they are rare vagrants to western North America and western Europe.

Diet

These birds forage on the ground or in water, picking up food by sight. Their diet consists of insects, crustaceans, and other invertebrates.

Did you know?

The genus name Tringa is derived from the Neo-Latin name given by Aldrovandus in 1599, based on the Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle.