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Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Calidris subruficollis
Identify the Buff-breasted Sandpiper by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a small, warm buff sandpiper with a short bill, dark eye and yellow legs. It breeds on dry Arctic tundra in North America and north-eastern Siberia and migrates through the interior of North America to the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. Unlike most shorebirds it favours short-grass habitats away from water. It is a rare but regular vagrant to western and northern Europe.
Did you know?
- On the Arctic breeding grounds it sometimes eats bumblebees, even feeding them to its chicks.
- Unlike most shorebirds, males gather on leks to display to females.
About the species
Identification
A small wader about the size of a Dunlin. It is buffy overall and finely patterned, with a large dark eye in a plain face and a short, straight bill. The underwings are bright white, conspicuous in flight. The sexes are alike. It resembles a small female Ruff, but the shorter bill, larger eye and uniformly buff look separate it.
Family
Scolopacidae
Size
Medium (thrush)
Colours
orange, brown, yellow, white
About the habitat
Breeds on dry, sparsely vegetated tundra; on migration short-grass prairie, pastures, coastal meadows, airfields and golf courses, and in winter the South American pampas.
Diet
Mainly insects and other small invertebrates such as beetles, flies, grasshoppers and spiders, picked from the ground by sight; on the breeding grounds even bumblebees.
Behaviour
Forages by walking briskly over short grass, picking prey and darting forward, almost like a small plover. Often very tame. Males gather at leks and display by raising their wings to show the white undersides, sometimes even on migration. It nests on the ground and usually lays four eggs.
Sources
Photo: Brent Cox, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6235772234
Text: Wikipedia (English) + GBIF regional observations + Wikipedia (Norwegian), CC BY-SA 4.0; GBIF occurrence data; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff-breasted_sandpiper
