Wandering Tattler
Tringa incarna
IUCN status: Least concern
Flyway population 17 500 (2022 estimate)
Wandering Tattler. Port of Brisbane. Robert Bush.
Identification
Medium-sized dark grey bird of rocky shores.
Plumage
Non-breeding: Upperparts are slate-grey the cheeks appear paler. The underparts are white. The supercilium is white not really extending past the eye, but seems to meet on the forehead over the bill. The bill is black with yellow on the rear third of the lower mandible. The legs are yellow.
Breeding: The upperparts are slate-grey with individual feathers of the back having a darker margin giving a scalloped appearance. The supercilium looks whiter. The sides of the head are white heavily streaked with grey. The underparts are white with the breast and flanks marked with V-shaped grey bars. The bill is black with yellow on the rear third of the lower mandible. The legs are bright yellow.
Juvenile: Similar to the non-breeding plumage but the upperparts appear spotted.
Confusing Species
Grey-tailed Tattler: This species has paler upperparts. The supercilium extends well behind the eye. Both birds like rocks to roost on.
Distribution
Breeds in Alaska and far-eastern Siberia. Migrates to southern North America, Central America and northern parts of South America as well as to the east caost of Australia and to New Zealand. In Australia, usually solitary birds on rocky coastlines.
Monthly reports of Wandering Tattler in Queensland
Best sites in Queensland to see Wandering Tattler
Yearly trends in Queensland
International and Nationally Important sites in Queensland
| Significant Bird Area | Year | Peak Count | International | National |
| Gladstone | 2010 | 23 | No | Yes |
| Capricaornia Cays | 2015 | 12 | Yes | Yes |
| Toogoom to Point Vernon | 2023 | 11 | Yes | Yes |
| Moreton Bay | 2024 | 10 | Yes | Yes |
Conservation
EPBC listing: Marine, Migratory – not listed as threatened
References
- BirdLife Australia (2023). Wandering Tattler. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/wandering-tattler/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
- Gill, R. E., B. J. McCaffery, and P. S. Tomkovich (2020). Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wantat1.01
- eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
- Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
- Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
- Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
- van Swinderen, L., Hansen, B.D., Fuller, R.A., Watkins, D., Rogers, D.I., Clemens, R.S., Newman, M., Woehler, E.J., Weller, D.R. and LeClair, S. (2025). Revision of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
- https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/