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Sanderling

Sanderling

Calidris alba

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The Sanderling is a small, pale sandpiper that breeds on the High Arctic tundra and spreads to coasts almost worldwide in winter, as far as South Africa, South America and Australia. On beaches it is instantly recognisable as it dashes back and forth with the waves, and in flight it shows a bold white wingbar. It is highly migratory and sociable, forming tight flocks on sandy shores.

Did you know?

  • Unusually among sandpipers, the Sanderling lacks a hind toe.
  • One European Sanderling is known to have lived for more than 18 years.

Voice

Call
Flight call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

A small, pale sandpiper. In winter plumage it is very pale – all white below with pale grey upperparts; in summer plumage the head, back and breast are mottled rusty brown and the belly white. The legs are black and the bill fairly short and stout. Its pale look and lack of contrast in winter separate it from darker sandpipers; it also lacks a hind toe.

Family

Scolopacidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

white, grey, brown, black

About the habitat

Breeds on dry, stony High Arctic tundra near wet areas. On migration and in winter wide sandy ocean beaches, tidal sand and mudflats and occasionally lake shores.

Diet

Small shoreline invertebrates – crustaceans, worms and small molluscs – probed or picked from wet sand at the surf's edge; on the breeding grounds mainly insects and some plant material.

Behaviour

Very lively; runs in short bursts with a rapid gait, timing its feeding to the ebb and flow of the waves. The flight call is a sharp “plit”. Gregarious in winter. On the breeding grounds it is territorial, and pairs may be monogamous or the female may lay two clutches, one tended by each parent.

Sources

Photo: Chuck Homler, Focus On Wildlife, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanderling (Calidris alba) in Breeding Plumage in the Delaware Bay - Heislerville WMA - Cumberland County - New Jersey - May 2026.jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC938622, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/938622

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC938621, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/938621

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC1075048, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1075048

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanderling

See also