I saw a large flock of Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus); about 25-35 birds spread out around the jetty walkway. Some birds were clearly just coming out of breeding plumage (above), others in non-breeding plumage (below).
But I was confused with some that had orange-red legs but a very dull base of bills (below). Usually we would expect the base of the bill in Common Redshanks to be orange.
Vinicombe (2014) points out that the base of the bill in juveniles is grey at first. Wells (1999) says that 1st winter birds have dull bills and feet. Hence these juveniles can be confused with Wood Sandpipers until they fly when the conspicuous white is seen. I also think that the bird shown above (second from top) is also a 1st winter bird as the upper parts are browner (Hayman 1986). Below shows a juvenile side by side with an adult.
References:
- Vinicombe, Keith (2014). The Helm Guide to Bird Identification. Bloomsbury.
- Wells, D.R. (1999) The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1 (Non-Passerines). Christopher Helm, London
- Hayman, Marchant, Prater (1986). Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Christopher Helm, London.
Amar-Singh HSS (Dato’ Dr)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Location: Bagan Datuk, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Coastal Mangrove
Date: 10th September 2020
Equipment: Equipment: Nikon D500 SLR with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, handheld with Rode VideoMic Pro Plus Shotgun Microphone
