Sanderling

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The Sanderling, Calidris alba is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.

This bird is similar in size to a Dunlin, but stouter, with a thick bill. It shows a strong white wingbar in flight, and runs along the sandy beaches it prefers with a characteristic "bicycling" action, stopping frequently to pick small food items. It eats small crabs and other small invertebrates. In spring, birds migrating north from South America consume large numbers of horseshoe crab eggs in the Delaware Bay area.

The depicted bird is a spring recent arrival on the High Arctic breeding grounds, where it lays 3-4 eggs on a ground scrape. Later in the summer, the face and throat become brick-red. On the nesting grounds, these birds mainly eat insects and some plant material.

The winter bird is very pale, almost white apart from a dark shoulder patch. This is the source of the specific name, alba, which is the Latin for "white". The juvenile bird is spangled black and white, and shows much more contrast than the adult.

Sanderling behavior is distinctive, but visually, if the size is misjudged, a breeding plumage sanderling can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a winter plumage sanderling can be mistaken for a Dunlin or Red Knot. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe.

On the map below, the dark shading shows the approximate southern limit of the Sanderling's breeding range.

The Sanderling is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Sanderling breeding range

A flock of sanderlings displaying their distinctive behavior of running with the ebb and flow of waves (while feeding). Taken Winter 2005, at Willapa Bay, near Tokeland, Washington, USA.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). [Calidris alba]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

• [Sanderling videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

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