Appearance:

White forehead with white wedge above eye in all plumages. Legs, and most of bill yellow in adult breeding plumage. Very small and longwinged tern. Only 2/3 of size of Common Tern. Head and bill proportionally longer than Chlidonias species and congeners, while tail is shorter. Back paler grey and belly whiter. First primaries form a dark front edge to wing. In winter the bill darkens, legs turn a dirty yellow and the white forehead expands. Juvenile resembles adult winter, but has yellowish bill base and scale patterned back. Flight fluttering with rapid wing-beats, which together with size, is usually sufficient to determine the species.

Sound:

Fairly distinct voice. Contact call a sharp "kitt", often combined to form undulating, rolling series. Not as sharp and penetrating as Common- and Arctic Tern.

Contact call:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:Lars Buckx, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Adults differ from most other waders by bright red legs. Large white rectangular patches on secondaries conspicuous in flight in all plumages. Spotted redshanks in winter- or juvenile plumage lacks white wing bars, are more elegant with a more slender bill, and shows a stronger dark eyestripe and white supercilium. Juvenile Redshanks are unevenly, and sparsely spotted below from the legs to the vent, as opposed to the barring of juvenile Spotted Redshanks. Leg colour in juveniles often dull yellowish. Flanks evenly spotted. Winter plumage with brownish upperparts.

Sound:

Generally a noisy and loud bird, especially at breeding ground. Most heard is a characteristic "tew-hoo", or "tew-hoo-hoo" with first syllable accentuated. No gap between the syllables like Greenshank, and usually with a marked falling pitch. Song similar to Wood Sandpiper, but with three accented notes in each cycle, not two.

Flight/contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC