Spotted sandpiper
The spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is a small bird in the genus Actitis.[2]
| Spotted sandpiper | |
|---|---|
| |
| Breeding plumage | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Actitis |
| Species: | A. macularius
|
| Binomial name | |
| Actitis macularius (Linnaeus, 1766)
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| Synonyms | |
|
Tringa macularia Linnaeus, 1766 | |
Description
Spotted sandpipers are 7.1-7.9 in (18-20 cm) long. It weighs 1.2-1.8 oz (34-50 g). It has a wingspan of 14.6-15.8 in (37-40 cm). Adults have short yellowish legs and an orange bill with a dark tip. The body is brown on top and white underneath with black spots.[3]
Distribution
They breed near fresh water across most of Canada and the United States. They migrate to the southern United States, the Caribbean, and South America. They are very rare in western Europe.
Feeding
They eat insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates.
Reproduction
Spotted sandpipers nest on the ground. During the breeding season, females may mate with more than one male, leaving them to incubate the egg. This is called polyandry.
Spotted Sandpiper Media
Call of the Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
'Record shot' of spotted sandpipers at Île Sainte-Hélène in Montreal, Canada, showing diagnostic features such as the all-brown back and tail (i.e. no black, unlike many other sandpipers), white leading and trailing edge to the wings, partial white wingbar, and white edging to tail.
Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
A spotted sandpiper, or "teeterpeep", displaying its trademark bobbing-motion while foraging in a harbor in Oakland, CA.
Description: Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia), Bluffer's Park (Toronto, Canada, 2005; de: Drosseluferläufer * Photograph: Mdffirst upload in en wikipedia on 23:12, 13 June 2005 by Mdf * Licence:
Spotted Sandpiper (non-breeding plumage). Richmond Marina, Richmond, California.
Spotted sandpiper hunting in the Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey and New York (state)
Spotted sandpiper foraging in Fox River Grove, Illinois
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References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Actitis macularius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm dictionary of scientific bird names : from aalge to zusii. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-1-4081-3326-2. OCLC 659731768.
- ↑ "Spotted Sandpiper Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-10-24.