Greenshank are versatile & resourceful waders capable of exploiting a number of different foods.

In The Gambia I have watched them catch small shrimps by sideways swinging of the bill (like an Avocet) as well as chasing fiddler crabs & mudskippers in muddy mangroves. In Kenya I have seen one dash through a brine fly swarm on a soda lake snapping like a maniac as the swarm takes flight. Here in Scotland we are used to seeing them probing mud for worms, etc but they are also adept at fishing. This bird was rushing through the shallows with an open bill snapping at any wee fish that were flushed -it was taking both minnows and stickleback.