Appearance:

Small, but tall and elegant Tringa. Body the size of Wood Sandpiper, but stands as tall as Greenshank. Tibia especially long. The needle-like, straight bill adds to the elegance. Pale face, especially at base of bill. Back grey in adults, with star-shaped speckles in summer and narrow, pale fringes in winter. Immatures with broader fringes and overall darker upperparts. In flight the long legs trails far behind the tail, and the narrow white wedge on the back is conspicuous. Wings are dark with no bars, and shows as the darkest part of the bird also when on ground (especially in adults). Surprisingly quick and easy take-off. Posture generally erect and tall, particularly when nervous.

Sound:

Song a slow, melancholic whistle "tu-lee-uu", with the middle part highest in pitch (and with falling glissando). Similar to Spotted Redshank in structure, but with a clear tone (little risk of confusion). Flight call/contact call similar to singular instances of alarm call of Redshank, consisting of a single note rising abruptly in pitch in a split second and then falling; "kieew". Lingers a bit at the ending of the note, giving it a clearer glissando than in Redshank.

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

CC

CC-photo:Wouter Van Gasse, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Derek Keats, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Summer: Red throat (seemingly black at a distance!). Lacks white vertical framing of throat patch and white spotted back of Black-throated Diver. Winter: Quite pale. White face and eye-ring. Just a narrow stripe of dark grey along the back of the neck. In all plumages best identified by posture and silhouette, especially when seen at a distance. Slender neck, head and bill. Flat chest. Usually shows no white flank patch. Bill usually held uptilted.

Sound:

In flight; nasal, dry, gooselike series of rhythmic cackling "ko-ko-ko". Most vocal when courting and breeding. A meowing drawn-out sound starting with a register break, then falling in pitch. Display call a far reaching rolling cyclic cooing, given in long sequences.

Song/display:

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

CC-sound:Lauri Hallikainen, Licence,Link.