From Opus

Photo by rayh
Titchwell, Norfolk, August 2003

Philomachus pugnax

[edit] Identification

29-32cm
Variable plumaged wader; male much larger than female. Small head on long neck. Legs can be green, yellow, orange or flesh-coloured.
Breeding Male Has extra-ordinary ear tufts, crest and erectile ruff - black, brown, white; barred or streaked. Belly and sides of rump are white. Black breast. Pale narrow wing bar. Bill may be brown, red or yellow.
Female, Juvenile and winter Male: brown, streaked darker above with a buffy breast.
Their feathers seem to 'ruffle' more easily in the wind than happens with other waders.

[edit] Similar Species

Winter males similar to Common Redshank but look round-shouldered and pot-bellied in comparison.

Photo by frydferd Martin Mere February 2008

Juvenile Photo by Akihaka Salo, Finland August 2006

Breeding Male Photo by Robert L Jarvis North Finland June 2001

Intermediate Plumage Photo by trevor.wht Abberton Reservoir, Near Colchester, Essex, England, July 2009

[edit] Distribution

Northern Europe and Russia.

Rare vagrant to California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Accidental vagrant to Kansas.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Breeds in bogs, marshes and wet meadows. Winter, and on passage, can be found on inland marshes, lake shores, occasionally estuaries.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

They build their nest in a well-hidden location on the ground, and 3-4 eggs are laid.

[edit] Diet

They forage in wet grassland and soft mud. The diet includes insects, earthworms, larvae, frogs, small fish, and seeds.

[edit] Vocalisation

A low "chut-ut".

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Wikipedia
3. Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
4. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
5. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition

[edit] External Links