Wood Sandpiper: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Saurabh Agrawal · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Tringa glareola
- Family
- Sandpipers and Allies
- Size
- About 20 cm
- Habitat
- Marshy pools and wet meadows
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania
The key marks
Paler brown with a spotted back, a long white eyebrow behind the eye and pale underwings. Green Sandpiper is darker above, with dark underwings.
Voice
A quick 'chiff-iff-iff'.
Good to know
A delicate migrant that stands high on yellowish legs.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Green Sandpiper. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in marshy pools and wet meadows. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.