Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Common Redshank
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Tringa totanus
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Voice
Song
Call
Call
How to recognize it
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Up to 30 cm long
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Long red-orange legs; orange bill with a black tip
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Mottled brown in breeding plumage; plainer grey-brown above and whitish below in winter
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In flight, a broad white stripe along the wing
About the species
Mottled brown above and paler underneath, the Common Redshank has a finely patterned look on the ground. Its long legs are vivid red-orange, matching the red bill, which ends in black. In flight, white patches show along the back and wings, breaking up the brown pattern.
It is wary and quick to sound the alarm, with a loud whistle that carries across open wetlands. In spring, the male makes display flights and gives a more musical whistle before nesting.
It uses shores and wetlands, from damp meadows and marshes to saltmarsh. It probes wet ground and shallows with its long bill for insects, worms, snails, crustaceans and other small invertebrates. It breeds across temperate Eurasia, then moves south or toward the coast for winter, reaching the Mediterranean, Atlantic Europe and South Asia.
Where to find
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At the shallow edges of small water bodies, look for the Common Redshank probing the water with its long bill for prey.
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In spring over damp meadows, listen for a male's melodious whistle during a courtship flight.
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On Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts in winter, watch for the broad white stripe along the wing as it takes off.
