Tringa guttifer
The Nordmann's Greenshank, *Tringa guttifer*, is a critically endangered medium-sized shorebird, measuring approximately 29-35 cm (11.4-13.8 in) in length with a wingspan of 69-73 cm (27.2-28.7 in). Its most distinctive field mark is a heavy, slightly upturned black bill with a yellowish base, complementing its long greenish-yellow legs. In breeding plumage, it sports a striking mottled dark brown and black upperparts heavily marked with white spots, while its underparts are white with dense ...
This specialized shorebird primarily inhabits coastal wetlands, estuaries, and intertidal mudflats, frequently utilizing shallow lagoons and occasionally venturing into brackish or freshwater marshes near coastlines at low elevations.
The diet primarily consists of small marine and aquatic invertebrates, including crabs, worms, and molluscs, supplemented by small fish, all obtained through probing and sweeping in shallow, muddy substrates.
Nordmann's Greenshanks are largely diurnal, intensely foraging during low tide when their preferred invertebrate prey is accessible on exposed mudflats, and retreating to higher ground, sandbars, or mangrove fringes to roost during high tide. Their distinctive foraging technique involves wading i...
The breeding range of Nordmann's Greenshank is highly restricted to the remote Russian Far East, primarily on Sakhalin Island and parts of Khabarovsk Krai, with potential breeding occurring in northern Kamchatka and Magadan Oblast. These breeding areas typically consist of open larch forests, mos...
Critically Endangered
- The Nordmann's Greenshank is one of the world's rarest and most endangered shorebirds, with a global population estimated at fewer than 1,000 mature individuals. - Its breeding grounds remained largely a mystery to science until 1999, when definitive nests were found on Sakhalin Island, Russia....