Western Sandpiper

Overview

Western Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, chestnut-brown, scaled upperparts, white underparts dotted with rows of dark chevrons. Head streaked with brown wash on face. Bill is dark and decurved at tip. Thin white stripes visible on dark wings in flight. Black legs and feet, partial webbing between toes.

Range and Habitat

Western Sandpiper: Breeds in northern and western Alaska. Spends winters mainly along the coast from California and Virginia southward to South America. Preferred habitats include shores, mudflats, grassy pools, and wet meadows.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Western Sandpiper was first described in 1857 by Jean Louis Cabanis, a German ornithologist.
This is one of the most abundant shorebird species in North America with a population in the millions.
A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.

The Western Sandpiper is a small shorebird that breeds on the tundra in eastern Siberia and Alaska. Nests are usually built on the ground, hidden under low vegetation. During winter months, this species will migrate southward to the eastern and western coasts of North America and South America. Rare specimens have also been spotted in Western Europe. Food is foraged on the mudflats or probed in the shallow water and soil. Diets consist mainly of insects, crustaceans and mollusks. The conservation rating for the Western Sandpiper is Least Concern.