Grey-tailed Tattler

The Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes, is a small, elegant shorebird with a distinctive grey tail. It is closely related to the Wandering Tattler, T. incana, and shares many physical characteristics with this North American species. Both species are notable for their unpatterned grey wings and back, and a scaly breast pattern that extends onto the belly during breeding season. They also possess a rather prominent supercilium, adding to their keen-eyed appearance.

Identification Tips

To identify the Grey-tailed Tattler, look for its grey upper parts, underwings, face, and neck, contrasted with a white belly. It has short yellowish legs and a bill that is pale at the base with a dark tip. A weak supercilium can be observed above the eye. While similar to the Wandering Tattler, the Grey-tailed can be distinguished by its disyllabic whistle, as opposed to the rippling trill of its American counterpart.

Habitat

The breeding habitat of the Grey-tailed Tattler is the stony riverbeds of northeast Siberia. These birds are comfortable perching in trees and may occasionally use old nests of other birds.

Distribution

After the breeding season, the Grey-tailed Tattler migrates to a range that spans from southeast Asia to Australia. They are rare vagrants to western North America and western Europe.

Behaviour

The Grey-tailed Tattler is a migratory species that winters on muddy and sandy coasts. It is not typically gregarious and is rarely seen in large flocks, except at communal roosts. Foraging occurs on the ground or in shallow water, where they pick up food by sight, including insects, crustaceans, and other invertebrates.

Song & Calls

The call of the Grey-tailed Tattler is a distinctive disyllabic whistle, which serves as a reliable identification tool.

Breeding

This tattler breeds in the remote riverbeds of Siberia, nesting on the ground but also showing an unusual behavior for shorebirds by perching in trees. They may use old nests of other birds for resting.

Similar Species

The Grey-tailed Tattler is most similar to the Wandering Tattler, T. incana. Differentiation between the two species can be subtle and relies on details such as the length of the nasal groove and scaling on the tarsus.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Grey-tailed Tattler consists of insects, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, which they forage for on the ground or in shallow waters.

Conservation status

Australia

In Australia, the Grey-tailed Tattler is not listed as "threatened" under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, it is listed as "threatened" on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988), and as critically endangered on the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria. An Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared.