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Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareolaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: WOSA Scientific Name: TRIGLA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176618
Least Concern
 
Wood Sandpiper: The breeding adult Wood Sandpiper is heavily marked with white spots and notches on its dark gray-brown upperparts. The underparts are white.
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Wood Sandpiper Variations

Wood Sandpiper
Juvenile
Wood Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Breeding Adult
Wood Sandpiper

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Wood Sandpiper: Medium, long-legged sandpiper with dark gray-brown upperparts and breast heavily marked with white spots and notches. Underparts are white; legs usually green, but may be yellow and lead to confusion with Lesser Yellowlegs. Underwings pale gray; rump is white with black-barred tail.

Range and Habitat

Wood Sandpiper: Breeds across northern Europe and Asia, winters in equatorial areas from Africa to Asia. Found on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska during spring migration, and occasionally lingers to breed. Has been found in British Columbia and northeastern North America.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chiff-iff-iff"

Interesting Facts

 The Wood Sandpiper was first described in 1758 by  Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.

 This bird is the smallest of the shanks.

 A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

David Wenzel

Splitbar
Range Map for Wood Sandpiper

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Family
Species Tringa glareola
Length8 Inches
Wingspan22 Inches

Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper: Medium, long-legged sandpiper with dark gray-brown upperparts and breast heavily marked with white spots and notches. Underparts are white; legs usually green, but may be yellow and lead to confusion with Lesser Yellowlegs. Underwings pale gray; rump is white with black-barred tail.

● Song: "chiff-iff-iff"

● Foraging & Feeding: Wood Sandpiper: Favors swampy freshwater habitats and flooded fields where it strides actively with its distinctive teetering gait searching for a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates. Mainly finds food visually and pecks items from surfaces, but will probe and even submerge its head in water trying to catch prey underwater.

● Breeding & nesting: Wood Sandpiper: Breeds in northern bogs and flooded forests. Nests built on ground amid dense vegetation or will use old thrush nests in trees. Lays three to four light green to white eggs that are marked with red brown. Both sexes incubate eggs for 22 to 23 days. Female departs soon after chicks hatch, while male tends chicks until they fly at 30 days.

● Similar species: Wood Sandpiper: Green Sandpiper has dark wing underwings. Solitary Sandpiper has dark wing linings and dark stripe down center of tail. Lesser Yellowlegs is larger and taller with brighter orange legs and a less obvious eyeline.

Flight Pattern

Fast, fluttery, surprisingly agile flight with incredible acceleration.
Wood Sandpiper: Breeding Adult
● Range & Habitat: Wood Sandpiper: Breeds across northern Europe and Asia, winters in equatorial areas from Africa to Asia. Found on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska during spring migration, and occasionally lingers to breed. Has been found in British Columbia and northeastern North America.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight5.6 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX