Wednesday 11 May 2011

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Tringa (unidentified bird named by Aristotle) glareola ("gravel")
Adult Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glarola) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 55g  /  Length: 19-23cm  /  Wingspan: 56-57cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Wood Sandpipers are quite a rare species in the UK - they pass through on passage in reasonable numbers, but, only a small number pairs breed in the country each year - all in the Scottish Highlands. It is most easily separated from the other species named sandpipers by the prominent speckling and prominent eye-stripe - though actually the name is a little misleading - it is more closely related to the "shanks" than the Common Sandpiper.  My first sighting was seen while on passage, which is probably the best way to see them in the UK without a trip to Scotland. Much later, I saw two in Cambodia, which are Wintering grounds for this species, and therefore much more easily seen there.

Related Species:
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Tringa
Subspecies: none - monotypic

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A very rare breeding species (11-27 pairs) and rare passage migrant
 - A single bird seen on passage at Summerleys Nature Reserve in May 2011.
CAMBODIA - Khmer - ទីតលីតស្លាបក្រោមត្នោតខ្ចី ("Beige Underwing")
A Winter migrant
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: One Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPBWikipedia, Xeno-canto

No comments:

Post a Comment