Common greenshank

"Greenshank" redirects here. For the other species with this name, see Nordmann's greenshank.

Common greenshank
Summer plumage, Standlake, Oxfordshire
Winter plumage, Bahrain
Song and calls, recorded in west Sutherland, Scotland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Tringa
Species:
T. nebularia
Binomial name
Tringa nebularia
(Gunnerus, 1767)
Range of T. nebularia
  Breeding
  Non-breeding
  Passage
  Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms
  • Scolopax glottis Linnaeus, 1758
  • Tringa littorea Linnaeus, 1758

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.[2]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Tringa nebularia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22693220A86684205. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693220A86684205.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 266, 390. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.