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Spotted Redshank
The Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. This is an Arctic bird, breeding across Scandinavia and northern Asia. It is a migratory species, wintering around the Mediterranean and in south Asia, usually on fresh water. This species nests on open boggy taiga, laying four eggs in a ground scrape.
The Spotted Redshanks is 29-33 cm long. It is black in breeding plumage, and very pale in winter. It has a red legs and bill, and shows a white oval on the back in flight. Juveniles are brown above and have uniformly barred underparts.
The Spotted Redshank is replaced as a breeding bird further south by the closely related Common Redshank, which has a shorter bill and legs, and is brown, becoming somewhat lighter-toned in winter.
The breeding song is a creaking whistle teu-hu, the alarm call a kyip-kyip-kyip. Like most waders, it feed on small invertebrates.