What is a greenshank?

A greenshank is a little bird with a long beak and olive-green legs – a member of a group of birds known as sandpipers.

The greenshank breeds in Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It builds its nest on the ground, being content usually to settle in a small hollow, lined with heather or dry grass. The eggs are pale buff or stone color, blotched with purplish-grey and spotted with dark brown.

Worms, insects and tiny fish provide the bird’s food. In winter the greenshank migrates, sometimes as far south as Australia or South Africa.