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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Scolopacidae
  4. ›
  5. Tringa
  6. ›
  7. Marsh Sandpiper
Marsh Sandpiper
Photo · (c) Andrew Allen, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis(Bechstein, 1803)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Tringa

At a glance

The Marsh Sandpiper is a medium-sized bird, about 22–26 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
22–26 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Marsh Sandpiper look like?

The Marsh Sandpiper is a medium-sized bird, about 22–26 cm long and weighing 52–100 g.

The marsh sandpiper is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. 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 stagnatilis is from Latin stagnum, "swamp".

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
22–26 cm
Weight
52–100 g
Wingspan
55 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Marsh Sandpiper?

The Marsh Sandpiper is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Marsh Sandpiper eat?

The Marsh Sandpiper feeds on intertidal invertebrates and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Marsh Sandpiper live in Australia?

The Marsh Sandpiper is native to Australia, recorded across 73 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingTemperate zone freshwater marshes of west-central to east-central Palearctic: east Poland and Baltic states east through south Russia, north Kazakhstan and north Mongolia to Amurland and north-east China

Non-breedingAF, OR, AU : inland and coastal wetlands of Paleotropics: Africa, north Middle East, south and south-east Asia, Indonesian Arch., south New Guinea, Australia (except Tasmania), Mariana Is. and Palau (west Micronesia), Philippines, south China, Taiwan and Ryukyu Is. (south Japan)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Breeding

8 regions recorded