Bird name:

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Code 4

COSA

Code 6

ACTHYP

ITIS

176613

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Pink gray with brown red speckles

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

21 - 22

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Bits of vegetation and debris.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Common Sandpiper: Eurasian counterpart to the Spotted Sandpiper; has dusky gray upperparts, heavily streaked breast, and sparkling white underparts. Best distinguished by its habit of standing in a semi-crouch and bobbing back and forth. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has tiny white speckles on upperparts and less streaking on breast.

Range and Habitat

Common Sandpiper: In nonbreeding season wanders widely along fresh and salt water edges throughout Europe, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, and Australia. Very rarely found on Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

Breeding and Nesting

Common Sandpiper: Nests along a wide variety of freshwater lakes and rivers across Europe and Asia. Lays four pink gray eggs with fine brown red speckles. Both parents incubate 21 to 22 days, and both parents look over young as they feed themselves.

Foraging and Feeding

Common Sandpiper: Frequents rocky shorelines, bobbing as it walks along the water edge picking small invertebrates from the surface of rocks and mud.

Vocalization

Common Sandpiper: Shrill piping "swee wee wee."

Similar Species

Common Sandpiper: Spotted Sandpiper is nearly identical but has shorter tail, during the breeding season develops heavily spotted breast and bright orange legs and bill.

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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