Calidris pusilla
The Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) is a diminutive, yet incredibly resilient shorebird, measuring approximately 13-15 cm (5-6 in) in length with a wingspan of 28-31 cm (11-12 in) and weighing 20-40 g (0.7-1.4 oz). Its distinct features include a relatively short, straight, all-dark bill and dark legs. During the breeding season, its upperparts are a grayish-brown with rufous and dark streaking, contrasting with clean white underparts and faintly streaked flanks, while a subtle supe...
Breeding occurs on the open, wet sedge meadows and gravelly ridges of the Arctic tundra, while during migration and winter, they inhabit coastal mudflats, sandy beaches, estuaries, lagoons, and occasionally inland wetlands.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of small aquatic invertebrates, including crustaceans (such as amphipods and copepods), insect larvae (especially chironomids), small mollusks, and polychaete worms, obtained by pecking and probing.
Semipalmated Sandpipers are active diurnal foragers, constantly moving along the water's edge, primarily using a run-and-peck strategy to snatch prey from the surface or probing their bills into soft mud. Males establish small breeding territories on the tundra, performing elaborate aerial displa...
The Semipalmated Sandpiper boasts an extensive New World range, breeding across the vast High Arctic tundra of North America, including Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Greenland, and the coastal regions of Hudson Bay. Following the breeding season, they undertake a spectacular southward ...
Least Concern
- The Semipalmated Sandpiper undertakes one of the longest migratory journeys for its small size, traveling thousands of kilometers from the Arctic to South America. - Its name comes from the partial webbing between its front toes, a unique adaptation among 'peeps' that helps it navigate soft mud...