Spotted redshank

Spotted redshank
Spotted redshank in non-breeding plumage
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Genus:	Tringa
Species:	T. erythropus
Binomial name
Tringa erythropus (Pallas, 1764)

The spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus) is a wader (shorebird) in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Asia and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter. It is an occasional vagrant to Australia and North America.

Taxonomy

The spotted redshank was first described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764. It is a monotypic species, with no recognised subspecies.^[2] Taxonomically, it forms a close-knit group with several other large Tringa species, with molecular sequencing showing it to be a sister clade to that containing the greater yellowlegs and the common greenshank.^[3]

Description

This is a large wader (shorebird), measuring 29–31 cm (11–12 in) long,^{[nb 1]} with a wingspan of 61–67 cm (24–26 in) and a weight ranging from 121 to 205 g (4.3 to 7.2 oz).^[5] It is black in breeding plumage, and very pale in winter. It has a red legs and bill, and shows a white oval on the back in flight. Juveniles are grey-brown finely speckled white above, and have pale, finely barred underparts. The call is a creaking whistle teu-it (somewhat similar to the call of a roseate tern), the alarm call a kyip-kyip-kyip.

Habitat and range

The spotted redshank breeds in the Arctic across much of Eurasia, from Lapland in the west to Chukotskaya in the east.^[3]

Behaviour

Food and feeding

Like most waders, it feeds on small invertebrates.

Breeding

Spotted redshank - breeding plumage

It nests on open boggy taiga, laying four eggs in a ground scrape. For breeding the bird moults to a black to dark grey with white spots. During breeding plumage the legs also turn a dark grey. See image alongside.

Conservation and threats

The spotted redshank is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Notes

1. By convention, length is measured from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail on a dead bird (or skin) laid on its back.^[4]

References

1. BirdLife International (2012). "Tringa erythropus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
2. O'Brien, Crossley & Karlson 2006, p. 357
3. Parkin & Knox 2010, p. 173
4. Cramp 1977, p. 3
5. O'Brien, Crossley & Karlson 2006, p. 254

Sources

• Cramp, Stanley, ed. (1977). Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 1, Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-857358-8.
• O'Brien, Michael; Crossley, Richard; Karlson, Kevin (2006). The Shorebird Guide. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-43294-9.
• Parkin, David T.; Knox, Alan G. (2010). The Status of Birds in Britain and Ireland. London, UK: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-1-4081-2500-7.
• Pereira, S.L.; Baker, A.J. (2005). "Multiple Gene Evidence for Parallel Evolution and Retention of Ancestral Morphological States in the Shanks (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae)". Condor 107 (3): 514–526. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2005)107[0514:MGEFPE]2.0.CO;2.

External links

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Redshank". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

• BirdLife species factsheet for Tringa erythropus
• Tringa erythropus on Avibase
• Spotted redshank videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
• Spotted redshank photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Interactive range map of Tringa erythropus at IUCN Red List maps
• Audio recordings of Spotted redshank on Xeno-canto.
• Tringa erythropus in the Flickr: Field Guide Birds of the World
• Spotted redshank media at ARKive