Grey-tailed Tattler

Tringa brevipes

Unlike many waders that bob their tails vertically, the Grey-tailed Tattler often wags its tail from side to side when standing on rocks or mud.

Scientific name

Tringa brevipes

Taxonomy

Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Scolopacidae › Tringa

IUCN Red List status

Near Threatened

Population trend

decreasing

Biome

wetland

Habitat

Coastal mudflats, estuaries, sandy beaches, rocky shores, and stony subarctic riverbeds during breeding season.

Diet

Invertebrates including crabs, polychaete worms, insects, mollusks, and small fish.

Range

Siberia, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Size

Length: 25-27 cm, Wingspan: 60-65 cm, Weight: 80-150 g

Lifespan

10-15 years

Active

diurnal

Threats

Habitat loss and reclamation of vital tidal mudflats along its migration route, particularly in the Yellow Sea region, alongside climate change and coastal pollution.

Safe to approach?

This species is completely harmless to humans. If you encounter them on beaches or mudflats, maintain a safe distance of at least 50 meters. Use binoculars to observe them. Do not chase or disturb roosting or feeding flocks, as conserving energy is vital for their long-distance migrations.

The grey-tailed tattler or Polynesian tattler , Tringa brevipes (formerly Heteroscelus brevipes ) is a small, foraging shorebird in the genus Tringa . The English name for the tattlers refers to their noisy call. The genus name Tringa is the New 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 brevipes is from Latin brevis , "short", and pes , "foot".

Photo: Rainer Breitling, CC-BY, via iNaturalist

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