Common Redshank

by Pentaxfriend

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Tringa
Species: T. totanus
Binomial name: Tringa totanus


Common Redshanks in breeding plumage are a marbled brown color, slightly lighter below. In winter plumage they become somewhat lighter-toned and less patterned, being rather plain greyish-brown above and whitish below. They have red legs and a black-tipped red bill, and show white up the back and on the wings in flight.

The Spotted Redshank (T. erythropus), which breeds in the Arctic, has a longer bill and legs; it is almost entirely black in breeding plumage and very pale in winter. It is not a particularly close relative of the Common Redshank, but rather belongs to a high-latitude lineage of largish shanks. T. totanus on the other hand is closely related to the Marsh Sandpiper (T. stagnatilis), and closer still to the small Wood Sandpiper (T. glareola). The ancestors of the latter and the Common Redshank seem to have diverged around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, about 5-6 million years ago. These three subarctic- to temperate-region species form a group of smallish shanks with have red or yellowish legs, and in breeding plumage are generally a subdued light brown above with some darker mottling, and have somewhat diffuse small brownish spots on the breast and neck
Uploaded23/05/2009 - 10:09
CategoryWildlife / Nature
Shutter Speed1/1000
Aperturef/4.5
LensN/A
ISO320
Focal Length300mm
Views/Likes31/0

Cliff-P
Posted 23/05/2009 - 20:34 Link
Superb shot, great detail and pose. Well captured.
Cliff.




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