Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Also known as: Xivita
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
71 g
About This Species
This wader frequents wooded streams, wet woodland and quiet freshwater margins, bobbing its tail as it walks and flushing with a sharp, ringing call and steep, zigzagging flight when startled. Its dark olive-brown upperparts contrast with a bold white rump visible in flight, distinguishing it from open-country sandpipers. Passage periods in spring and especially late summer through autumn are the best times to find it, when birds stop at small pools, ditches and woodland streams while on migration.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Approach slowly along paths and avoid pushing through waterside vegetation, since this species is easily flushed and prefers to feed undisturbed at the water's edge.
- Wading birds and wetland habitats are protected under wildlife law in many countries it passes through on migration, though the specific protections vary by country, so check local guidance where relevant.
- Watching quietly from a fixed spot rather than following a flushed bird gives the best views while minimising the energy cost of repeated disturbance.
LCAvesCharadriiformesScolopacidae
Seasonal Activity
1,537,117 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 71 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.