Bird name:

Common Redshank

Tringa totanus

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Code 4

COMR

Code 6

TRITOT

ITIS

176622

Breeding Location:

Grasslands, Marshes, Wetlands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Small colonies

Breeding Population:

Accidental in North America

Egg Color:

Buff marked with black, brown or purple gray

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

23 - 24

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Grassy tussock., Lined with fine plant material.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Common Redshank: Large sandpiper with scaled black and brown upperparts, dark-streaked neck and breast, white eye-ring broken in front, and pale belly and sides with dark chevrons. Wings are dark with thick, white trailing edges visible in flight. Long legs are orange-red. Bill is short and red with black tip. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Common Redshank: Widespread across Eurasia; accidental in Newfoundland. Preferred habitats include mudflats, marshes, and grassy fields.

Breeding and Nesting

Common Redshank: Four buff eggs marked with black, brown, or purple gray are laid on the ground in a shallow hollow of a grassy tussock. Nest is lined with fine plant material. Incubation ranges from 23 to 24 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Common Redshank: Eats small fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and insects.

Vocalization

Common Redshank: Usual call is a musical, down-slurred "tleu-hu-hu." Call is a high-pitched, repeated yelping "twek-twek"; alarm call is "ti-you."

Similar Species

Common Redshank: Spotted Redshank has black-and-white spots on upperparts, gray mottling on secondaries, white rump, and longer, dark red legs.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America