General

Common Greenshank: Large sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white rump, and white underparts streaked and spotted with brown. Long legs are yellow-green. Bill is slightly upturned. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Common Greenshank: Found in Europe and Asia on mudflats, wetlands, bogs, shallow marshes, ponds. Rare visitor to western Aleutians, Pribilof, and St. Lawrence Islands of Alaska; also recorded in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in fall and winter. Nests in taiga and forest areas; winters on a wide range of wetland habitats, both coastal and inland, but prefers estuaries to the open coast.

Breeding and Nesting

Common Greenshank: Four light gray to buff eggs with red brown spots are laid on the ground close to a fallen log, stump, or hummock. Nest is lined with moss. Eggs are incubated for 24 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Common Greenshank: Eats small fish and insects. Forages while running in shallow water or wading belly-deep.

Vocalization

Common Greenshank: Song is a bold, melodic whistle "tew-tew-tew" similar to that of Greater Yellowlegs; also makes a musical "too-hoo, too-hoo" on breeding grounds.

Similar Species

Common Greenshank: Greater Yellowlegs is darker with more gray-brown in plumage, has more heavily barred white tail, dark back, and brighter yellow legs.