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Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotosOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: PESA Scientific Name: CALMET ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176653
Least Concern
 
Pectoral Sandpiper
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Pectoral Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, dark brown upperparts, heavily streaked brown breast, plain white belly. Crown, eyestripe are dark brown. Faint wing-bar and black rump with white edges are visible in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats. Zigzag pattern when flushed.

Range and Habitat

Pectoral Sandpiper: Breeds on arctic tundra from Alaska to Hudson Bay; also found in Siberia. Spends winters in South America. Preferred habitats include marshes and grassy pools.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"churrrt", "krrrek", "tik-tik-tik"

Interesting Facts

 The breeding male Pectoral Sandpiper has an inflatable throat sac, which expands and contracts rhythmically during display flights. The accompanying vocalization consists of a series of hollow hoots.

 They are promiscuous: males mate with multiple females, and females mate with multiple males.

 They were once known as the Grass Snipe and the Krieker. Cox’s Sandpiper is a hybrid between this species and the Curlew Sandpiper.

 A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Imran Kahn

Splitbar
Range Map for Pectoral Sandpiper

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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Calidris melanotos
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan15.5 Inches

Pectoral Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, dark brown upperparts, heavily streaked brown breast, plain white belly. Crown, eyestripe are dark brown. Faint wing-bar and black rump with white edges are visible in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats. Zigzag pattern when flushed.

● Song: "churrrt", "krrrek", "tik-tik-tik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Pectoral Sandpiper: Feeds mainly on insects, also eats small crustaceans, seeds, and spiders.

● Breeding & nesting: Pectoral Sandpiper: Four white to olive buff eggs blotched with dark brown are laid in a cup of grass and leaves hidden on the ground. Female incubates the eggs for 21 to 23 days.

● Similar species: Pectoral Sandpiper: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper has paler breast and rufous-brown crown. Other sandpipers lack the strongly striped brown breast.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Pectoral Sandpiper Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Pectoral Sandpiper: Breeds on arctic tundra from Alaska to Hudson Bay; also found in Siberia. Spends winters in South America. Preferred habitats include marshes and grassy pools.
BreedingPromiscuous
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight3.5 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
CrownX
The crown is the top part of the birds head.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX