Medium. Short thick legs, medium short straight bill. Sexes alike.
Adults: Breeding: Upperparts, underwing, uniform brownish-grey. Underparts, white. Breast, flanks, prominent dark brown barring. Belly, central undertail coverts unbarred. Sides of face streaked. Eyebrow, white and prominent. Eyering, white. Lores, dark brownish-grey. Rump, faint barring. Bill, grey but yellowish at base, with a short nasal groove. A dark line extends from base of bill through eye. Legs, shortish, dull grey-yellow or orange-yellow. Non-breeding: Upperparts, throat and breast, mid-grey. Underparts, whitish, with washed grey across breast. Eyebrow, white and longish, that nearly meet across pale forehead.
Immatures: Feathers of upperparts finely notched white.
Other Scientific Names
Tringa brevipes [Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)], Tringa brevipes [Turbott (1990)], Tringa brevipes [AOU checklist (1998 + supplements)], Tringa brevipes [Christidis and Boles (2008)]
Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China (mainland), Christmas Island, Fiji, Guam (NB), Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands (NB), Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Mongolia (B), Nauru (NB), New Caledonia, New Zealand, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Palau (NB), Papua New Guinea, Philippines (NB), Russia (Asian), Russia (Central Asian) (P), Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB) (P), Tuvalu, United States Minor Outlying Islands (NB), USA (NB), Vanuatu, Vietnam (NB).
Vagrant to British Indian Ocean Territory, Cook Islands, French Southern Territories, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, United Kingdom.
North-central and north-eastern Siberia in Putorana Mts, and from Verkhoyansk Mts and Transbaikalia east to Anadyrland; probably also Kamchatka and northern Kuril Is. Winters from Taiwan, Malay Peninsula and Philippines through Indonesia, New Guinea and Solomon Is to Australia, a few reaching New Zealand; also Fiji and Tuvalu.
Breeds in north-eastern Siberia, migrates south through the Philippines, Indonesia and New Guinea to Australia, mainly to the north and east coasts between about Shark Bay, WA and Syndey, New South Wales, becoming less common further south.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes) [XC675629]
by Albert Lastukhin from Momskiy Natsional'nyy Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russian Federation (alarm call, call)
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes) [XC403673]
by Drew Davison from Tambon Khuekkhak, Amphoe Takua Pa, Chang Wat Phang-nga, Thailand (alarm call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds June - July in Siberia.
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Nest
A hollow among stones, or in an abandoned nest of a song-bird.
Eggs (Guide)
4; pale buff with dark blotches, mainly at the larger end; oval to pyriform.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana), with which sometimes considered conspecific.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana)
Darker grey upperparts, heavier bill, with a longer nasal groove. Smaller white eyebrows that do not meet at the forehead and rarely extend behind the eye. Wingtips usually extend beyond the tail tip when at rest and feeding.
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
Smaller. Freckled white above. Has a white rump and finely barred white tail. Underwings, white not greyish. Has a finer bill. Legs are longer.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet