Common greenshank
Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus, 1767)
The common greenshank (Tringa nebularia), also called the greenshank, is a bird in the family Scolopacidae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory wetland bird with an adult body mass of 187 g and a wingspan of 61 cm.
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the common greenshank
It is an aquatic predator and carnivore with a terrestrial lifestyle, and checklists record it in Australia. It lays a clutch of 4 eggs once a year, incubates them for 24.3 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 172 g – 187 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 61 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 24.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 24.4 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 24.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the common greenshank?
Photos of the common greenshank
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
_Bahrain.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the common greenshank live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The common greenshank is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the common greenshank?
The common greenshank (Tringa nebularia) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-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 nebularia is from Latin nebula "mist". Like the Norwegian Skoddefoll, this refers to the greenshank's damp marshy habitat.
From the Wikipedia article “Common greenshank” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_greenshank&oldid=1379047759), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common greenshank sound like?
Is the common greenshank endangered?
The common greenshank is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the common greenshank classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusTringa
- SpeciesTringa nebularia (Gunnerus, 1767)
Synonyms Glottis linnei, Glottis nebularia, Glottis nebularius affinis, Glottis nebularius georgi, Scolopax glottis, Scolopax nebularia, Totanus canescens, Totanus glottis, Totanus glottoides, Totanus nebularia, Tringa canescens, Tringa glottis, Tringa littorea, Tringa nebularia nebularia
Other names and names in other languages (111)
- GreenshankEnglish
- طيطوي أخضر الساقArabic
- الطيطوى خضراء الساقArabic
- طيطوى خضراء الساقArabic
- طيطوي خضراء الساقArabic
- Churrupetas pativerdeAragonese
- chibibí claruAsturian
- Iri trinqaAzerbaijani
- Вялікі улітBelarusian
- Рачны кулікBelarusian
- Кулік-селянецBelarusian
- Кулiк-селянецBelarusian
- Голям зеленоног водобегачBulgarian
- Голям зеленокрак водобегачBulgarian
- Strelleg pavioù gwerBreton
- Ar strelleg pavioù gwerBreton
- CamaverdaCatalan
- gamba verdaCatalan
- Симӗс ураChuvash
- vodouš šedýCzech
- CoeswerddWelsh
- pibydd coeswyrddWelsh
- Pibyddion CoeswyrddWelsh
- hvidklireDanish
- GrünschenkelGerman
- Chon Chon IlolhiDivehi
- ΠρασινοσκέληςGreek
- ΣτακτονεραλλίδαGreek
- Griza tringoEsperanto
- verdakrura tringoEsperanto
- Pitotoy grandeSpanish
- Archibebe claroSpanish
- heletilderEstonian
- آبچلیک پاسبزPersian
- valkovikloFinnish
- HvítstelkurFaroese
- Chevalier aboyeurFrench
- Ladhrán glasIrish
- deoch-bhiughScottish Gaelic
- Deoch bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- deochan-biughScottish Gaelic
- laidhrín glasScottish Gaelic
- Bilurico claroGalician
- Goblan glassManx
- Gollan marrey glassManx
- ביצנית ירוקת-רגלHebrew
- ביצנית ירוקת רגלHebrew
- krivokljuna prutkaCroatian
- szürke cankóHungarian
- Կտցար ծխագույնArmenian
- Trinil kaki-hijauIndonesian
- Burung Trinil Kaki-hijauIndonesian
- LyngstelkurIcelandic
- pantanaItalian
- アオアシシギJapanese
- დიდი ჭოვილოGeorgian
- Үлкен балшықшыKazakh
- 청다리도요Korean
- Gar wervelenCornish
- GréngpattLuxembourgish
- žaliakojis tulikasLithuanian
- Žaliakojis tilvikasLithuanian
- lielā tilbīteLatvian
- vikivikipotakaMalagasy
- Водна трчкалицаMacedonian
- зеленонога трингаMacedonian
- പച്ചക്കാലിMalayalam
- ĊewċewwaMaltese
- Ухэр хөгчүү - ᠦᠬᠡᠷ ᠬᠦᠭᠡᠴᠦMongolian
- सामान्य हिरवा टिलवाMarathi
- Burung Kedidi Kaki HijauMalay
- gluttsnipeNorwegian Bokmål
- groenpootruiterDutch
- kwokaczPolish
- brodziec kwokaczPolish
- perna-verdePortuguese
- maçarico-de-perna-verdePortuguese
- perna-verde-comumPortuguese
- Trintga verdaRomansh
- Fluierar cu picioare verziRomanian
- fluierarul cu picioare verziRomanian
- большой улитRussian
- речной куликRussian
- светлый кулик (устар.)Russian
- StuoračoavžžuNorthern Sami
- čaganNorthern Sami
- vigláčoavžžuNorthern Sami
- VilgescoavzzuNorthern Sami
- kalužiak sivýSlovak
- zelenonogi martinecSlovenian
- Koe-koe-lemaoSouthern Sotho
- qyrylyku i madhAlbanian
- Krivokljuni sprudnikSerbian
- Кривокљуни спрудникSerbian
- Zelenonogi prudnik - Зеленоноги прудникSerbian
- gluttsnäppaSwedish
- Chamchanga Miguu-kijaniSwahili
- பச்சைக்காலிTamil
- นกทะเลขาเขียวThai
- นกทะเลขาเขียวธรรมดาThai
- yeşilbacakTurkish
- N'wantshekutshekuTsonga
- Улуг ногаан тулаажыTuvinian
- Великий коловодникUkrainian
- Коловодник великийUkrainian
- Chim Choắt lớnVietnamese
- UphenduXhosa
- 青脚鹬Chinese
- 青腳鷸Chinese
- 青足鷸Chinese
- 青足鷸〔青腳鷸〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common greenshank
Other species in the same genus Tringa.
Common redshank
Tringa totanus
Green sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Wood sandpiper
Tringa glareola
Spotted redshank
Tringa erythropus
Marsh sandpiper
Tringa stagnatilis
Lesser yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes
CompareCommon greenshank vs Common redshankCommon greenshank vs Green sandpiperCommon greenshank vs Wood sandpiperCommon greenshank vs Spotted redshank
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common greenshank?
The common greenshank is a bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory wetland bird.
How heavy is the common greenshank?
The common greenshank has an adult body mass of 187 g, and its wingspan is 61 cm.
What does the common greenshank eat?
The common greenshank is an aquatic predator, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Which countries is the common greenshank recorded in?
Checklists record the common greenshank in Australia. Its geographic range covers 12,130,000 km².
Is the common greenshank endangered?
No. The common greenshank is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common greenshank live?
The common greenshank has a lifespan of 24.4 years, with values up to 24.42 years reported.
How many eggs does the common greenshank lay?
The common greenshank lays 4 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 24.3 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common greenshank (Tringa nebularia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-greenshank
“Common greenshank (Tringa nebularia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-greenshank.
@misc{common_greenshank_2026,
title = {Common greenshank (Tringa nebularia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-greenshank},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}