greenshank

greenshank
/green"shangk'/, n.
an Old World shore bird, Tringa nebularia, having green legs.
[1760-70; GREEN + SHANK]

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bird
      (species Tringa nebularia), Old World shorebird of the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes). Greenshanks are gray birds with greenish legs and a white rump. Rather slender, about 30 cm (12 inches) long, they are deep waders and have a long, slightly upturned bill.

      Greenshanks breed in northern Europe and Asia during the summer, and they winter in southern Europe, Asia, Africa, and occasionally as far south as Tasmania and New Zealand. They nest on moors, in flat meadows or swamps near lakes, or in wooded bogs. A clutch of four speckled and cryptically coloured eggs, laid in late April or early May, is incubated for 23 or 24 days. The male and female usually share the nesting duties. Sometimes the family separates, each parent taking one or more chicks, or one parent may depart, leaving all responsibility to the other.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Greenshank — Green shank , n. (Zo[ o]l.) A European sandpiper or snipe ({Totanus canescens}); called also {greater plover}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • greenshank — [grēn′shaŋk΄] n. a European sandpiper (Tringa nebularia) with greenish legs …   English World dictionary

  • Greenshank — Taxobox name = Greenshank status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 image caption = Juvenile Greenshank regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Charadriiformes familia = Scolopacidae genus = Tringa species = T. nebularia binomial =… …   Wikipedia

  • greenshank — noun Date: 1766 an Old World sandpiper (Tringa nebularia) with greenish legs and a slightly upturned bill …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • greenshank — noun A wading bird, Tringa nebularia, that has long greenish legs and is native to Eurasia …   Wiktionary

  • greenshank — noun a large grey and white sandpiper with long greenish legs. [Tringa nebularia.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • greenshank — green•shank [[t]ˈgrinˌʃæŋk[/t]] n. orn an Old World shorebird, Tringa nebularia, having green legs and a long upcurving bill • Etymology: 1760–70 …   From formal English to slang

  • greenshank — /ˈgrinʃæŋk / (say greenshangk) noun a sandpiper with greenish legs, Tringa nebularia, which breeds in Eurasia and appears in Australia as a migrant …  

  • greenshank — n. a large sandpiper, Tringa nebularia …   Useful english dictionary

  • Common Greenshank — Greenshank Laem Phak Bia, Phetchaburi, Thailand Conservation status …   Wikipedia

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