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Probable Green Sandpiper?

Probable Green Sandpiper?

Digiscoped at Wetland Park yesterday. The legs look green enough to be a Green Sandpiper. Neil.

Hong Kong Wetland Park,
Hong Kong,
China.
13/01/08

Canon A640 plus Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 30x eyepiece and DCA adapter.

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Mystery Sandpiper

It's too "spotty" -

Wood Sandpiper !

John

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Thanks John.  It looks like the green legs might be covered with slime from the water which fooled me. Neil.

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Neil

I think leg colour is not the best way to seperate these two species - both have greenish legs, although wood tends to have slightly yellower and paler legs.
It is better to focus on plumage - green is darker and plainer above with more contrast to the white underparts (very noticeable on the breast) and a shorter supercilium, mostly in front of the eye.
Wood is paler, browner, and more marked above with a long supercilium in front and behind the eye (as on this bird).
They are also rather different in structure - green in stockier.
In flight, the dark underwing of green is very obvious, and the flight calls are different.

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