General

Terek Sandpiper: Medium-sized sandpiper with lightly spotted gray upperparts, white underparts, and gray wash on upper breast. Eyestripes are dark. Bill is long, orange with black tip, and distinctly curved upward. Legs are relatively short and bright orange. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Terek Sandpiper: Eurasian species; rare migrant on outer Aleutians; accidental in fall to coastal British Columbia, California, and Massachusetts. Breeds along rivers and lakeshores in wooded areas and marshes. Mostly coastal outside breeding season, usually found in estuaries, mudflats, and tidal creeks.

Breeding and Nesting

Terek Sandpiper: Four light gray eggs with brown to black speckles are laid in a shallow ground nest lined with vegetation, usually built in the middle of grayed driftwood on riverbanks. Incubation ranges from 21 to 22 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Terek Sandpiper: Feeds on insects, crustaceans, and mollusks. Forages while dashing and darting over mudflats.

Vocalization

Terek Sandpiper: Makes a variety of melodious trills on one pitch while in flight.

Similar Species

Terek Sandpiper: Common Sandpiper has shorter body and longer legs.