Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Overview

Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, scaled brown and black upperparts, red-brown wash on face, neck, spotted upper breast, white underparts. Most distinguishing characteristic is the extraordinarily flared tip on its black bill. Black legs, feet. Flight is swift and direct on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Breeds on the coast of far eastern Siberia. Apparently winters along the coasts of India and South Asia though its primary wintering grounds are unknown. Very rarely seen in Alaska.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Spoonbill Sandpiper was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Platalea pygmea. It was moved to its current genus by Sven Nilsson in 1821.
The main threats to its survival are habitat loss on its breeding grounds and loss of tidal flats through its migratory and wintering range.
This bird is endangered, with a current population of less than 2500 - probably less than 1000 - mature individuals.
A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is a small wading bird found in northeastern Russia, and spends its winters in southeastern Asia. This species is characterized by a large, spatulate bill, which is swung from side to side in order to catch food. Breeding habitats consist of coastlines and adjacent land on the Chukchi Peninsula and the isthmus of the Kamchatka Peninsula. During winter months, this species migrates south to Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China. Its main wintering grounds are found in south and Southeast Asia. The conservation status of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper is Least Concern.