Calidris melanotos
The Pectoral Sandpiper, *Calidris melanotos*, is a medium-sized shorebird renowned for its strikingly streaked breast, which abruptly cuts off at the belly, resembling a 'pectoral' band. Adults measure approximately 20-24 cm (8-9.5 in) in length with a wingspan of 40-46 cm (15.5-18 in) and weigh between 50-120g. Their upperparts are dark brown with distinct rufous and buff scalloping, particularly noticeable in juveniles, while their legs are typically yellowish to dull orange. This species b...
This species primarily breeds on wet Arctic tundra, characterized by sedge meadows and mossy bogs. During migration and winter, it utilizes a wide array of freshwater and brackish wetlands, including flooded fields, sewage ponds, muddy shores, and grasslands, typically in lowland areas.
The diet consists predominantly of insects, including dipteran larvae (especially midges and mosquitoes), beetles, and spiders. They forage by probing into soft substrates or gleaning from the surface of vegetation and mud.
Pectoral Sandpipers are largely diurnal but may forage at night during migration or under continuous daylight in their Arctic breeding grounds, roosting communally in sheltered depressions or vegetation. Their foraging strategy involves a distinctive 'stop-start' walk, probing methodically into s...
The Pectoral Sandpiper has a circumpolar breeding distribution, primarily across the High Arctic tundra of North America (Alaska and the Canadian Arctic) and Siberia. Following the breeding season, these birds embark on an incredible trans-hemispheric migration, with the entire population winteri...
Least Concern
- Pectoral Sandpipers undertake one of the longest migratory journeys of any Arctic-breeding shorebird, with some individuals traveling over 30,000 km (18,600 miles) annually. - They are one of the few shorebird species known to exhibit a polygynous, lek-like breeding system, where males perform ...