Bird name:

Sanderling

Calidris alba

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Code 4

Sand

Code 6

CALALB

ITIS

176669

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Seashore, rocky or sandy, Grasslands, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial, Polyandrous

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Olive green or brown spotted with brown and black

Number of Eggs:

3 - 4

Incubation Days:

24 - 31

Egg Incubator:

Male

Nest Material:

Lined with small leaves, grass, lichen, mosses, or willow leaves.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Sanderling: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark-spotted, rufous upperparts and breast and white underparts. Wings have conspicuous white stripes visible in flight. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has pale gray upperparts and head, and white underparts. Juvenile has dark gray- and-white mottled upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Sanderling: Breeds in high Arctic tundra from Alaska eastward to Baffin Island. Spends winters along coasts from British Columbia and Massachusetts southward to southern South America. Preferred habitats include ocean beaches, sandbars, mudflats, and lake and river shorelines.

Breeding and Nesting

Sanderling: Three to four black and brown-spotted, olive green or brown eggs are laid in a ground hollow lined with grass and lichens. Incubation ranges from 24 to 31 days and is carried out by the male.

Foraging and Feeding

Sanderling: In spring, diet includes insects, spiders, and vegetation; probes for marine invertebrates within ½ inch of mud surface.

Vocalization

Sanderling: Call is a sharp "kip"; emits conversational chatter while feeding.

Similar Species

Sanderling: Red Knot and rare Curlew Sandpiper are larger and have more rufous on breasts. Winter Sanderling has more distinct wing stripe.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America