Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Calidris acuminataOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Codes: Common Name: SPTS Scientific Name: CALACU ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176652

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Mudflats, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Polygamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Casual to rare

Egg Color:

Brown olive or geen speckled with brown

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

19 - 23

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Leaves and grasses.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark brown upperparts and white underparts with faint olive-brown streaks on breast and sides. Head has a dark brown crown and white eyestripe. Wings are dark brown. Tail is dark brown and pointed in flight. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Eurasian species; casual spring and common fall migrant in western Alaska; rare fall migrant along entire Pacific coast. Preferred habitats include tidal sandbars, mudflats, estuaries, swamps, inland lakes, and shorelines.

Breeding and Nesting

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Four brown-olive or green eggs speckled with brown are laid in a ground nest made of grass and leaves. Male is polygamous, mating with one or more females each season. Incubation ranges from 19 to 23 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly at 18 to 21 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Eats worms, snails, crustaceans, insects, and occasionally aquatic vegetation; forages in small groups or large flocks, sometimes with other species.

Vocalization

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Makes sharp, metallic, piping calls and a shrill ringing in flight.

Similar Species

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Pectoral Sandpiper has a more mottled plumage and white eyebrow.

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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.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with dark brown upperparts and white underparts with faint olive-brown streaks on breast and sides. Head has rufous crown, white eye ring and eyestripe. Wings are dark brown. Tail is dark brown and pointed in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "pleep-pleep-trrt"

● Foraging & Feeding: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Eats worms, snails, crustaceans, insects, and occasionally aquatic vegetation; forages in small groups or large flocks, sometimes with other species.

● Breeding & nesting: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Four brown-olive or green eggs speckled with brown are laid in a ground nest made of grass and leaves. Male is polygamous, mating with one or more females each season. Incubation ranges from 19 to 23 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly at 18 to 21 days.

● Similar species: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Pectoral Sandpiper has a more mottled plumage and white eyebrow.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with rapid wing beats.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Eurasian species; casual spring and common fall migrant in western Alaska; rare fall migrant along entire Pacific coast. Preferred habitats include tidal sandbars, mudflats, estuaries, swamps, inland lakes, and shorelines.

^BreedingPolygamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCasual to rare

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight2.5 Ounces

Underparts

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

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

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