Wandering Tattler

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The wandering tattler is a medium-sized shorebird, similar in appearance to the closely related gray-tailed tattler. The tattlers are unique among the species of Tringa for having unpatterned, greyish wings and backs, and a scaly breast pattern extending more or less onto the belly in breeding plumage, in which both also have a rather prominent supercilium.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

1. 01

   Uniformly plain grey back and wings

   Lacks obvious patterns, spots, or streaks, except when breeding.

2. 02

   Heavy dark barring on underparts (breeding)

   Barring is extensive and well-defined, giving a scaly or chevroned appearance that extends well down the flanks and belly.

3. 03

   Grey wash on breast, clean white belly (non-breeding)

   The grey wash is diffuse and unstreaked across the breast, contrasting sharply with the clean white belly.

4. 04

   Short, dull yellow to greenish-yellow legs

   Legs are noticeably short and stocky for a medium-sized wader.