Australia
SpeciesField NotesLog inDownload

Field notes

Stay in the loop

Get updates, new features, and Australian birding news.

By subscribing, I agree to receive BirdUp Australia updates, new features, and Australian birding news.

Australia
Download for iOSDownload for AndroidSpeciesField NotesRSSNewsletterBrandPrivacyTerms

BirdUp Australia Pty Ltd © 2026. Made in Australia for Australian birders.

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

BirdUp · Species

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareolaLinnaeus, 1758

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Tringa

At a glance

The Wood Sandpiper is a medium-sized bird, about 19–23 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
19–23 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 Wood Sandpiper look like?

The Wood Sandpiper is a medium-sized bird, about 19–23 cm long and weighing 46–79 g.

The wood sandpiper is a small wader belonging to the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. A Eurasian species, it is the smallest of the shanks, a genus of mid-sized, long-legged waders that largely inhabit freshwater and wetland environments, as opposed to the maritime or coastal habitats of other, similar species.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
19–23 cm
Weight
46–79 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Wood Sandpiper?

The Wood 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 Wood Sandpiper eat?

The Wood Sandpiper feeds on terrestrial invertebrates and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or flocks or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

The BirdUp app

Log your next Wood Sandpiper in the field

A pocket field journal for 850+ Australian birds. Offline-first, smart ID, and a lifelist that travels with you.

Get the appRead field notes
Spotted something wrong on this page? Report incorrect info

02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Wood Sandpiper live in Australia?

The Wood Sandpiper is native to Australia, recorded across 69 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning inland subarctic to temperate wooded wetlands of north Palearctic.

BreedingInland subarctic to temperate wooded wetlands of north Palearctic: Scotland (north British Isles), north Scandinavia, Austria east through inland north Russia to west Chukotskiy Pen., to east Siberia and north-east China, in south through north Mongolia, north-east China, Kamchatka and Commander Is. (east Russia)

Non-breedingAF, OR, AU : inland subtropical to tropical small open wetlands of Paleotropics: Africa, south Arabian Pen., south and south-east Asia, Indonesian Arch., New Guinea, Australia (except Tasmania), Philippines, Taiwan, east China and Ryukyu Is. (south Japan)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Resident
  • Breeding
  • Vagrant

8 regions recorded