Common Greenshank
Tringa nebularia
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
- GenusTringa (Shanks, Tattlers, and Allies)
- SpeciesTringa nebularia (Common Greenshank)
About the Common Greenshank
The common greenshank (Tringa nebularia) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific nebularia is from Latin nebula "mist". Like the Norwegian Skoddefoll, this refers to the greenshank's damp marshy habitat.
Its closest relative is the greater yellowlegs, which together with the spotted redshank form a close-knit group. Among them, these three species show all the basic leg and foot colours found in the shanks, demonstrating that this character is paraphyletic. They are also the largest shanks apart from the willet, which is altogether more robustly built. The greater yellowlegs and the common greenshank share a coarse, dark, and fairly crisp breast pattern as well as much black on the shoulders and back in breeding plumage.
This is a subarctic bird, breeding from northern Scotland eastwards across northern Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is a migratory species, wintering in Africa, the Indian subcontinent... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Camargue
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Spotted Redshank
Tringa erythropus
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareola
Marsh Sandpiper
Tringa stagnatilis
Eurasian Curlew
Numenius arquata
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Little Stint
Calidris minuta
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Terek Sandpiper
Xenus cinereus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Common Greenshank in Camargue?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Greenshank sighting in Camargue, based on 316 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Common Greenshank in Camargue?
September has the highest sighting rate for Common Greenshank in Camargue in our monthly data.