General

Green Sandpiper: Eurasian counterpart to the Solitary Sandpiper; medium-sized sandpiper with pale-spotted, dark gray-brown back and rump, and white underparts with dark streaks on neck, upper breast, and sides. Head is dark and eye-ring is bold white. Tail is white with fine dark spotting at tip (as opposed to Solitary Sandpiper's black and white barred tail). Bill, legs, and feet are olive-green. Sexes are similar. Juvenile resembles adult but is darker brown with more finely streaked underparts and buff-spotted upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Green Sandpiper: Breeds in northern forests across Europe and Asia, winters around small bodies of water across a broad geographic area from Africa to Southeast Asia. Very rarely shows up in spring on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Breeding and Nesting

Green Sandpiper: Breeds in swampy or wet forests at northern latitudes across Europe and Asia. Nests in trees and uses old nests left by other birds with no effort to modify or improve the nest on its own. Lays four light gray eggs with small red brown spots. Both parents incubate for 20 to 23 days. Chicks are cared for by both parents, though the female often leaves before the chicks fledge fully.

Foraging and Feeding

Green Sandpiper: Feeds by pecking small insects and invertebrates from surface of water and vegetation, while walking along the margins of small pools and puddles. Does not like open areas and more likely to be found along ditches, streams, or sheltered ponds. Walks with a distinct teetering gait, pumping its head and tail up and down nervously.

Vocalization

Green Sandpiper: Loud "weet weet wit wit."

Similar Species

Green Sandpiper: Solitary Sandpiper has dark rump and dark central tail stripe. Wood Sandpiper has pale white underwing linings and is more distinctly spotted and streaked.