The Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis) is a slender eastern sandpiper, like a miniature Greenshank with especially long legs and a fine, straight bill. It is a fairly small wader that breeds in open wetlands across the flat taiga and steppe country from easternmost Europe to Central Asia, closely related to the Greenshank and Redshank, and though declining in numbers is still considered viable. It measures 22–25 cm with a wingspan of 55–59 cm and a weight of 60–90 grams, giving the impression of a miniature Greenshank but slimmer and more delicate, with notably long, grey-green legs and a fine, straight, needle-like bill — thinner and straighter than the Greenshank's heavier, slightly upturned one. The back is pale grey, the underside clean white, and in flight a clear white wedge runs up the back; the tall, elegant stance gives it an unmistakable profile on close study. The call is a soft, somewhat high "tjyp-tjyp" or "kju", less powerful than the Greenshank's.
In Sweden the species is a rare visitor, seen mostly resting in the southern and central provinces, especially during easterly winds in May or August, with only a handful of records each year; it has, however, bred in Sweden on a few occasions. Good sites for resting birds include shallow wetlands and coastal meadows on Öland, in Skåne and at Kvismaren. Where it does breed, in its eastern range, the nest is placed on the ground in open wetland and the female lays around 4 eggs, with the precocial young feeding themselves soon after hatching. It forages in shallow water and on soft shores, picking aquatic insects, small crustaceans, molluscs and other small animals with quick, deft movements.
Read about this species in Swedish →