Wood Sandpiper

Very common and widespread migrant and non-breeding visitor.

Elegant sandpiper with long yellowish legs  and medium length straight bill. . Upperparts dark brown, spangled with white spots. In flight,above,  wings and back dark; square white rump and barred tail. Below, underwing coverts are finely barred. Feet project beyond tail in flight. Ad B: (Apr-Aug) Dark brown streaked crown, ear coverts, nape, sides of neck and breast, with paler supercilium and dark eyestripe. Flanks well-barred dark brown, and fine streaks on vent; rest of underparts white. Above, scapulars, coverts and tertials dark brown with white notches. Ad Nb: (Oct – Feb) Similar to Ad B, but head, breast and flanks less distinctly streaked; upperpart feathers browner with smaller, less discrete white notches. Juv: (Sep) Upperparts brown with crisply defined whitish triangular notches.

Other Tringa sandpipers are similar in shape. Common Redshank is stockier, and usually has red on bill and legs; some juvs can lack this, but can be distinguished by different pattern on scapulars, tertials and wing coverts. Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper have longer legs and are greyer above, with white back as well as rump in flight. Rare Green Sandpiper is darker above, with very small white spots, shorter, duller legs and more pronounced dark breast. In flight. Green Sandpiper looks very black and white in a way that Wood does not; it has dark underwings, more broadly barred tail, and toes project less beyond tail. Common Sandpiper is much shorter-legged than Wood Sandpiper, lacks white spots on upperparts, has white wingbar, dark rump and long, unbarred tail in flight, as well as distinctive flickering wingbeats.

Walks and picks prey off or below water surface; rarely probes mud. Occasionally bobs rear end, but not as manically as Common Sandpiper. May behave aggressively toward others when feeding territory is encroached. Such fights involve one bird attempting to gain height advantage over the other, using feet and bill to attack the head of the opponent.

Among the most widespread and numerous of shorebirds in Malaysia, with a strong preference for brackish and freshwater wetlands over intertidal areas. Can occur well inland.

Present year round, but most frequently seen from late July to May.