Grey-tailed Tattler, 5/7/2012

The bird showing up in Watzuwei Nature Reserve area of New Taipei City is not bad on 5/7/2012. Spotted birds include two flocks of Common Greenshank and Great White Egret, many Grey-tailed Tattlers, some Chinese Egrets and some Red-necked Stints. This is the first time I ever photographed a Grey-tailed Tattler, and I was just as excited as anyone else that day. When I spotted it, I didn't know its name. Not until I went home and searched the internet, I finally knew it's a Grey-tailed Tattler. Compared to its gray plumage, its yellowish feet look especially bright and outstanding. In Chinese, we call it yellow footed tattler, just as its feet show.

Here in Taiwan, Grey-tailed Tattlers are either commonly-seen passage migrants in autumn and spring, or uncommon winter migrants. They stay late until the end of May, before they fly back north to their breeding places. The pictures below are somewhat blurred, since what I used is a compact digital camera, not a SLR camera. I appologize if they hurt your eye.

Chinese name:	黃足鷸
English name:	Grey-tailed Tattler, Siberian (Grey-tailed) Tattler
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Heteroscelus brevipes
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern.
Migration status:	Common passage migrant or uncommon winter migratory bird in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Common or uncommon in Taiwan
Foods:	small fishes, crabs, etc
Habitat:	Sea shores, sandbanks, outlet of a river, swamps
Altitude:	Low altitude
Behavior:	Often appear in flocks in mudflats of sea shores, sandbanks and outlets of rivers.
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 25 cm long. Plumage is mainly gray. Feet are yellow. Bill is black, but part of the bill base is yellow. Eyebrow stripe is white. Eyeline is black. Breast and side belly are covered with V-shape black stripes. Neck is covered with black stripes.
Breeding places:	Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, etc.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in Southeast Asia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, etc, stopping by Taiwan.
Time photographed:	5/7/2012
Location found:	Watzuwei Nature Reserve, Bali District, New Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes: