Common Greenshank

• GeneralIt runs through the shallows after small fish with its bill open.
• It hunts on the run: instead of probing the mud like other waders, it chases fry and shrimp through shallow water in zigzag dashes, sometimes sweeping the water sideways with its bill.
• Its fluting three-syllable call is one of the most characteristic sounds of the Spanish marshes in winter, and usually gives it away before it is seen.
• It breeds in taiga peat bogs thousands of kilometres away and turns up in the saltpans of southern Spain from July, as soon as the breeding season is over.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Peat bogs and clearings in the taiga for breeding; marshes, salt pans and estuaries in winter

Birth weight

Precocial: born covered in down and leaves the nest within a few hours

Size at birth

Precocial: born covered in down and leaves the nest within a few hours

Sexual maturity

12 months

Gestation / incubation

24 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

4 eggs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Tringa nebularia

Best time: From August to April in Iberian marshes, saltpans and rice fields; it is easily detected by its loud, repeated three-note call.