Rock Sandpiper
Calidris ptilocnemis
Plump, rock-loving shorebird with slightly droopy bill. Most often seen in nonbreeding plumage, which is fairly dark gray with heavily spotted underparts. Color of legs and base of bill varies from dull greenish to orangey. Breeding plumage shows reddish back and smudgy black belly. Juveniles show some rusty tones and have neat white fringes on wing feathers. Some variation across range; breeding population on Pribilof Islands in Alaska is larger and paler. Breeds on tundra; winters on rocky coastlines, sometimes feeding on mudflats. Typically in flocks in winter, often mixed with turnstones or Surfbird. Extremely similar to Purple Sandpiper but no range overlap.
Identification
Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black. The Pribilof Islands subspecies of this bird shows a bold black belly patch.
Taxonomy
The rock sandpiper was formally described in 1873 by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues and given the binomial name Tringa ptilocnemis. It was formerly placed in the genus Erolia, but is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genus Calidris that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific epithet ptilocnemis combines the Ancient Greek ptilon meaning "feather" with knēmē meaning "leg". Within the genus Calidris the rock sandpiper is closely related to the sanderling (Calidris alba) and dunlin (Calidris alpina) and is sister to the purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima).<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Calidris ptilocnemis
- Authority
- (Coues, 1873)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Range and habitat
Birds migrate south to rocky ice-free Pacific coasts in winter. The subspecies leap frog each other for winter, with more northerly breeders passing south of more southerly breeders. It reproduces in tundra habitats, typically favoring drier and more desolate areas with limited vegetation such as lichen, moss, and sparse grasses. It can form rather large wintering flocks.<p>Rock Sandpipers which spend the non-breeding season in the Pacific Basin, Alaska, have to endure harsh conditions where they rely on high prey quality, especially of their primary prey - the bivalve Macoma balthica.
- Breeding range
- PAL, NA : coastal low Arctic to subarctic tundra of far n Pacific: e Chukotskiy Pen. to (disjunctly) s Kamchatka, Commander and (perhaps) n Kuril is. (e Russia), Aleutian and Bering Sea is., w Alaska from Seward Pen. to Gulf of Alaska is.
- Non-breeding range
- rocky subarctic to temperate coasts: Hokkaido (n Japan, w North Pacific; rare) to c California (e North Pacific)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Their breeding habitat is the northern tundra on Arctic Pacific coast of Alaska and the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. The birds also breed in Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. The breeding pair is usually monogamous, with pair bonds usually lasting several years. They nest on the ground either elevated on rocks or in lower damp location. The male makes several scrapes; the female chooses one and lays 4 eggs. Both male and female take the responsibility for incubation.<p>These birds forage on rocky coasts. They mainly eat insects, mollusks, marine worms, also some plant material. It often feeds up to its breast in water, and often swims. It roosts on rocks near its feeding grounds just above the high tide spray.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Vampire Ground-Finch
Geospiza septentrionalis
A rarely-seen Galápagos finch restricted to the islands of Darwin and Wolf. These islands are usually visited only by divers, so few birders have a chance to see this species. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch, and it has a similarly-shaped sharp, thin bill with nearly straight edges. Bill is black on breeding male and dull orange on female and nonbreeding male. Male’s plumage is sooty-black; female is brown with paler underparts that are streaked with gray. Its ominous name comes from its occasional habit of drinking blood, which it extracts from other animals by pecking until the skin is broken.
Bat-like Spinetail
Neafrapus boehmi
Extraordinary short-tailed swift with weak, fluttery, bat-like flight. Note the pale underparts and white rump patch. Seen on the wing over woodland, gallery forest, and moist savannah, especially miombo. Often in areas with baobabs, which are favored nesting sites. Usually solo or in pairs. Range does not overlap with that of the similar Sabine’s Spinetail. All other swifts have a longer tail.
Dambo Cisticola
Cisticola dambo
Small cisticola that is pale and buffy below, and dark on the back. The crown, back of the neck, and back are heavily streaked. Note specific habitat preferences, which can help with identification: found in seepage zones of seasonally wet grasslands, alongside but in wetter situations than Wing-snapping Cisticolas, but avoiding the seasonally flooded habitat of Pale-crowned Cisticola. Very similar to Wing-snapping and Pale-crowned Cisticolas, but longer-tailed than both, and further distinguished from Pale-crowned in breeding plumage by the streaked crown. Also similar to Zitting and Desert Cisticolas, but has a different voice, and is darker on the back. Song consists of nasal notes, given from a low perch (termite mound or grass stem) or occasional brief display flight at grass top height. In contrast to other small cisticolas, it does not have a true aerial display flight.
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