Western Sandpiper

Overview

The western sandpiper (Calidris mauri) is a small migratory shorebird and one of the most abundant shorebird species in North America, with a population in the millions. It belongs to the genus Calidris and is most closely related to the semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla).

Identification

• Brown on top and white underneath, with a reddish-brown crown and dark legs.
• Short, thin, dark bill that is thinner at the tip.
• Plain grey in winter plumage, making it difficult to distinguish from the semipalmated sandpiper, though it acquires this plumage earlier in autumn.
• Small size, measuring 14–17 cm in length and weighing 22–35 g.

Habitat

Breeding habitat consists of tundra in eastern Siberia and Alaska, where they nest on the ground under vegetation. During migration and the non-breeding season, they migrate to both coasts of North America and South America, as well as the Caribbean. They are a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

Diet

These birds forage on mudflats during migration and the non-breeding season by probing or picking up food by sight, while foraging on tundra and wet meadows during the breeding season. Although historically thought to mainly eat insects, spiders, small crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms, and seeds, they are now known to heavily graze on biofilm from the surface of intertidal mudflats.

Did you know?

The female may desert her mate and brood prior to the offspring fledging.