Water strider (genus)

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Water strider
Small yellow leg

Small yellow leg

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family : Snipe birds (Scolopacidae)
Genre : Water strider
Scientific name
Tringa
Linnaeus , 1758
Redshank
Dark water strider
Big yellow leg

The water striders ( Tringa ) are a genus from the family of snipe birds. The water strider species are very similar to each other, especially in their simple dress. Most, however, have very typical and conspicuous calls by which they can be easily identified.

After investigations of the mitochondrial DNA , the mud treadmill - so far placed in the monotypical genus Catoptrophorus - can also be incorporated into this genus. This North American species is about the size of a common woodcock , making it larger than any other species in the genus.

Water striders eat land and freshwater insects, small crustaceans, worms and mollusks . In some species, small fish and tadpoles are also part of the diet. They find their food mainly in shallow water. The greenshank and the dark water strider also look for food in relatively deep water. This is possible because, especially in the dark water strider, the nostrils of the relatively long and thin beak are set very high.

Both ground-nesting species and species that breed in tree nests can be found among the water striders. The wood sandpiper , like the lonely water strider, uses abandoned nests of other bird species. Thrush nests are used particularly frequently. The clutches usually contain four eggs.

Water striders of the avifauna of Central Europe

One of the species found in Central Europe is the redshank , which breeds in Europe and Asia from the Mediterranean Sea and the steppe and desert areas to the northern edge of the tree line.

The slightly larger greenshank breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It can be observed in Central Europe especially during train times. The most important winter quarters include the Atlantic coast of Western Europe.

The dark water strider is a breeding bird of the Arctic and the northern boreal coniferous forest zone. In Central Europe it is a regular migrant both on the coast and inland during migration . During the height of the procession, 5,000 to 10,000 individuals can be observed in the Netherlands. Dark water striders also overwinter in small numbers in Belgium, the Dutch Rhine delta and in northwest Germany.

Until the 1950s, the wood sandpiper breeded almost exclusively east of the Oder. Since then there has been a significant change in the inventory situation in Central Europe. While there was a clear decline in stocks in Poland, there has been an area expansion and an increase in stocks in northern and eastern Germany since the 1960s. Breeding pairs were first observed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and in the south of Schleswig-Holstein. The wood sandpiper has also been a breeding bird in Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt since the 1970s. In Austria there has been evidence of the breeding season since the 1980s. The sandpiper was first observed in Denmark in 1956, and in the mid-1990s the number of breeding pairs was 50–60. In Finland, the wood sandpiper has expanded its breeding area to the north and now breeds in Lapland , among others , in Russia it is also a breeding bird on the Kola Peninsula .

The sandpiper, the size of a starling, is a breeding bird of the temperate and boreal to subarctic tundra zone. In Central Europe it is a very rare breeding and summer bird that only occurs locally. It can be seen more frequently and regularly during migration as a migrant and resting bird.

species

The following species belong to the genus of water striders:

supporting documents

literature

  • Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife. Christopher Helm, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8 .

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Peter E. Lowther, Hector D. Douglas III, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor: Willet (Tringa semipalmata) in A. Poole (ed.): The Birds of North America Online , Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca 2001, doi : 10.2173 / bna.579
  2. ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 498
  3. ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 510

Web links

Commons : Wasserläufer ( Tringa )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files