Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola Linnaeus, 1758

≈22 cmLength40 cmWingspan62 gWeight

This small, slender sandpiper has yellow legs and feet and a rufous back, resembling a longer-legged Green Sandpiper.

Busiest months: April · Most records: India, China, Spain

Looks like Green Sandpiper

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Legs and feet relatively long and yellow
White rump patch smaller and less contrasting than Green Sandpiper's
Bill shorter and more slender than Green Sandpiper's
Back rufous

Similar species

Green Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper is more slender, with longer legs and feet, a shorter, more slender bill and a smaller, less contrasting white rump patch.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April · Most records: India, China, Spain

Wood Sandpiper has been recorded at 2,849 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 157 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Changaram Wetlands – EzhupunnaIndia3,281 records
Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia2,451 records
Saul Kere / Sowl KereIndia2,208 records

More places

International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel2,129 records
Taipei – Tianliaoyang WetlandTaiwan (China)1,990 records
Long ValleyHong Kong (China)1,943 records
Eilat – KM20 Flamingo Pools 20Israel1,861 records
Mai Po Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)1,783 records
Krishnampathi Lake, SeeranaickenpalayamIndia1,745 records
Dapingding and Xucuogang IBA – Dayuan LitcuoTaiwan (China)1,676 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India China Spain Israel Thailand United Kingdom Australia South Africa

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola) is a small wader belonging to the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. A Eurasian species, it is the smallest of the shanks, a genus of mid-sized, long-legged waders that largely inhabit freshwater and wetland environments, as opposed to the maritime or coastal habitats of other, similar species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Wood Sandpiper?

The Wood Sandpiper is about ≈22 cm long, with a wingspan of 40 cm and weighs around 62 g.

Where does the Wood Sandpiper live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: inland subarctic to temperate wooded wetlands of northern Palearctic: Scotland (northern British Isles), northern Scandinavia, Austria east through inland northern Russia to western Chukotskiy Peninsula, to eastern Siberia and northeastern China, in south through northern Mongolia, northeastern China, Kamchatka and Commander Islands (eastern Russia). It is most often recorded in India, China and Spain.

When is the best time to see the Wood Sandpiper?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Wood Sandpiper endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Wood Sandpiper as Least Concern.

What does the Wood Sandpiper eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Wood Sandpiper in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈22 cm
Wingspan: 40 cm
Weight: 62 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 124 mm
Tail: 49 mm
Bill: 32 mm
Tarsus: 35 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: inland subarctic to temperate wooded wetlands of northern Palearctic: Scotland (northern British Isles), northern Scandinavia, Austria east through inland northern Russia to western Chukotskiy Peninsula, to eastern Siberia and northeastern China, in south through northern Mongolia, northeastern China, Kamchatka and Commander Islands (eastern Russia)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2