Grey-tailed Tattler

This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Tringa brevipes

Malay Name: Kedidi-Kacau Asia

Chinese Name: 灰尾漂鹬

Range: Breeds in northern Siberia, winters south through the Malay Peninsula, Phillippines, and coastal Indonesia and Australia.

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 24-27 cm

Identification: A rather stockily-built sandpiper; in breeding plumage (which is sometimes retained until October or even later), shows grey upperparts, underparts white with wide, thin chevron-shaped markings across breast, flank and vent. In non-breeding plumage, white throat and brownish-grey wash over breast and upper belly; rest of underparts clean white. Differentiated from other similar species by combination of short yellow legs (compared to Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, and all other Tringa sandpipers except Nordmann's Greenshank, which have longer legs); short, blunt-tipped bill (compared to Terek Sandpiper and much rarer Nordmann's Greenshank, which have upturned bills).

Similar looking species: Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Nordmann's Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper

Habitat: Intertidal mudflats, mangroves, occasionally inland wetlands.

Behaviour/Ecology: Often associates with other waders — in the past, has been recorded with Common Redshanks at Sungei Buloh.

Local Status: Very rare migrant

Conservation Status: Near Threatened (BirdLife International 2016)

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes
Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2016 to Jun 2023 (all records)
Peak weeks Aug 13-Aug 19, Sep 03-Sep 09, Dec 03-Dec 09
Early date 21 Jul 1996
Late date 08 Apr 2001
This species is becoming increasingly difficult to find, with the only reported sightings since 2016 coming from Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.
Grey-tailed Tattler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Grey-tailed Tattler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Grey-tailed Tattler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Grey-tailed Tattler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Grey-tailed Tattler at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Gray-tailed Tattler)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Tringa brevipes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693289A93394897.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Van Gils, J., Wiersma, P., Kirwan, G. M., and Sharpe, C. J. (2020). Gray-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), version 1.0. In del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A., & de Juana, E. (Eds.), Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gyttat1.01

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Grey-tailed Tattler. Retrieved on December 8, 2023 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/grey-tailed-tattler.

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