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White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris

ICUN Redlist - World Status:

Least Concern

Description

The white-rumped sandpiper is a small shorebird 6-7 inches in length with a 16-17 inch wingspan. It has a white stripe over its eyes; a short, pointed, black bill; long black legs; a medium-sized neck; and a brown back marked with black. It has a brown streaked breast and a white belly and rump. Its pointed wingtips extend beyond its tail when it is at rest. In the non-breeding season, it is a grayish brown. Males and females look alike.

Range

map The white-rumped sandpiper breeds across extreme northern Alaska and Canada. It migrates through eastern and central Canada and the eastern and central United States. It winters in extreme southern South America.
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Habitat

The white-rumped sandpiper breeds on the tundra. In the winter and during migration, it is found in marshes, on the shores of lakes and ponds, in flooded fields, on beaches, and on mudflats.

Diet

The white-rumped sandpiper forages on the ground or in the water for food. It eats insects, larvae, seeds, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans.

Life Cycle

The female lays 4 eggs in a grass-lined depression in the ground. The female incubates the eggs for 20-21 days. The chicks fledge when they are 16-17 days old.

Behavior

The white-rumped sandpiper is a long-distance migrator. It migrates in large flocks from the Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska to Argentina at the tip of South America.

Audio Credit: xeno-canto.org Niels Krabbe