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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