About Tringa glareola Linnaeus, 1758
This species, scientifically named Tringa glareola Linnaeus, 1758, is commonly known as the wood sandpiper. It resembles a longer-legged, more delicate version of the green sandpiper (T. ochropus) or the solitary sandpiper (T. solitaria), but has a shorter, finer bill, a brown back, and longer yellowish legs. It differs from the green sandpiper by having a smaller, less contrasting white rump patch, while the solitary sandpiper has no rump patch at all. Despite this similarity in appearance, the wood sandpiper is not closely related to these two species. Its closest relative is the common redshank (T. totanus), and the two share a sister relationship with the marsh sandpiper (T. stagnatilis). These three species form a group of smallish shanks with red or yellowish legs. In breeding plumage, they have subdued light brown upperparts with some darker mottling, and a pattern of somewhat smaller diffuse brownish spots on the breast and neck. The wood sandpiper breeds in subarctic wetlands, stretching from the Scottish Highlands in the west, east across Eurasia and the Palearctic. It migrates to Africa, South Asia (particularly India), and Australia. Vagrant individuals have been observed as far into the Pacific as the Hawaiian Islands. In Micronesia, it is a regular visitor to Palau and the Mariana Islands, where flocks of up to 32 birds have been reported. It is observed and recorded on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, approximately once each decade. This species is also encountered in the Western Pacific region of East Asia and some Western Pacific islands between mid-October and mid-May. A slight westward expansion led to the establishment of a small resident breeding population in Scotland beginning in the 1950s. During migration and wintering, this species is usually found in and around freshwater habitats. Mature wood sandpipers moult all of their primary feathers between August and December. Juvenile birds shed a varying number of outer primaries between December and April, much closer to their departure from Africa. Immature birds are also much more flexible than older birds regarding the timing and rate of their moult and refueling. Adults and immatures that accumulate fuel loads of around 50% of their lean body mass can potentially cross distances of 2397–4490 km in one non-stop flight. Wood sandpipers forage for invertebrates by probing their bills in shallow water or wet mud, such as along lakeshores or riverbanks. They mainly eat aquatic insects, crustaceans, arthropods, various worms, and other small prey.
