Spotted redshank

Spotted redshank
File:Spottedredshankbreedingplumage2.jpg
In breeding plumage
File:Spotted-Redshank.jpg
In non-breeding plumage
Conservation status
Least Concern Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Genus:	Tringa
Species:	T. erythropus
Binomial name
Tringa erythropus (Pallas, 1764)
File:TringaErythropusIUCN.png
Range of T. erythropus (Compiled by: BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2007)   Breeding   Non-breeding   Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms
Totanus fuscus

The spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus) is a wader (shorebird) in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and the northern Palearctic and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter. It is an occasional vagrant to Australia and North America.

Taxonomy

The spotted redshank was described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Scolopax erythropus. It is a monotypic species, with no recognised subspecies. Taxonomically, it forms a close-knit group with several other large Tringa species, with molecular sequencing showing it to be a sister clade to that containing the greater yellowlegs and the common greenshank. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific erythropus is from Ancient Greek eruthros, "red", and pous, "foot".

Description

This is a large wader (shorebird), measuring 29–31 cm (11–12 in) long, with a wingspan of 61–67 cm (24–26 in) and a weight ranging from 121 to 205 g (4.3 to 7.2 oz). It is black in breeding plumage, and very pale in winter. It has a red legs and bill, and shows a white oval on the back in flight. Juveniles are grey-brown finely speckled white above, and have pale, finely barred underparts. Adults moult completely between July and October. In spring, the body plumage is moulted between March and May. Juveniles have a partial moult between August and February. The call is a creaking whistle teu-it (somewhat similar to the call of a roseate tern), the alarm call a kyip-kyip-kyip.

Habitat and range

The spotted redshank breeds in the Arctic across much of the Palearctic, from Lapland in the west to Chukotskaya in the east.

Behaviour

Food and feeding

Like most waders, it feeds on small invertebrates.

Breeding

File:Spotted Redshank From The Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds.jpg

Composite image for identification

It nests on open boggy taiga, laying four eggs in a ground scrape. For breeding the bird moults to a black to dark grey with white spots. During breeding plumage the legs also turn a dark grey. See image alongside.

Conservation and threats

The spotted redshank is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

External links

• BirdLife species factsheet for Tringa erythropus
• Spotted redshank photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Interactive range map of Tringa erythropus at IUCN Red List
• Audio recordings of Spotted redshank on Xeno-canto.
• Tringa erythropus in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr