Baird's Sandpiper
Calidris bairdii
Long-winged, long-distance migrant similar to White-rumped Sandpiper but with warmer buffy-tan plumage. Elongated body gives a horizontal impression when foraging; unique flattened oval shape when seen head-on. Black bill and brown rump. Breeding adults rather pale with large black spots on back. Crisp juveniles show neat scaly pattern on wings and back and have a warm buffy face and neck. Often with flocks of other small shorebirds, but prefers drier habitats, such as the grassy edge of a mudflat, seaweed-covered upper portion of a beach, or sod field. Breeds in the Arctic tundra; winters in South America.
Identification
Adults have black legs and a short, straight, thin dark bill. They are dark brown on top and mainly white underneath with a black patch on the rump. The head and breast are light brown with dark streaks. In winter plumage, this species is paler brownish gray above. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints".<p>One of the best identification features is the long wings, which extend beyond the tail when the bird is on the ground. Only the white-rumped sandpiper also shows this, and that bird can be distinguished by its namesake feature.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Calidris bairdii
- Authority
- (Coues, 1861)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- NA, PAL : high Arctic (locally to subarctic) dry tundra: Wrangel I. (n of ne Siberia and e Chukotskiy Pen. (far ne Siberia)), n, c Alaska, n Canada including Arctic islands from Banks to Ellesmere and Baffin is. and nw Greenland
- Non-breeding range
- w, s SA : inland including montane and coastal from s Peru through Chile and c, s Argentina
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Baird's sandpipers breed in the northern tundra from eastern Siberia to western Greenland. They nest on the ground, usually in dry locations with low vegetation.<p>They are a long-distance migrant, wintering in South America. This species is a rare vagrant to western Europe.<p>Baird's sandpiper might have hybridized with the buff-breasted sandpiper.<p>These birds forage by moving about mudflats, picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects, also some small crustaceans.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Diglossa caerulescens
Dull blue-gray flowerpiercer found in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Dark reddish eye. Could be confused with Masked Flowerpiercer but duller overall without large black mask. Bill is less upswept than most flowerpiercers. Found singly or in pairs, often following a mixed-species flock through the forest canopy. Occurs from around 1,600-2,700m.
Wallacean Whistler
Pachycephala arctitorquis
A thick-billed, sparrow-sized songbird. Male has a black hood, a white throat, pale gray upperparts, and a white underside. Female is rufous-brown above and whitish underneath, with dark chest streaking. Juvenile resembles a pale-billed female. Found in varied wooded habitats and forest, where pairs or single birds frequent the understory and subcanopy. Male distinguished from male Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers by gray back and white underside. Female separated from female Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers and from Fawn-breasted Whistler by streaked breast and strongly rufous-toned upperparts. Song is a series of strident whistles, including “choo” and “chwee” notes, sometimes in a jumbled series.
Inland Thornbill
Acanthiza apicalis
Small bird with thin pointed bill. Upperparts gray-brown, underparts off-white, with dark streaking on throat and breast, reddish-brown rump, white flecking on forecrown, and dark red eye. Often cocks tail upright. Similar Brown Thornbill has brown rather than gray-brown upperparts. Chestnut-rumped and Buff-rumped thornbills both have pale eyes, unstreaked chest, and mostly black tails. Inhabits dry woodland and scrubland, also in wetter habitats in southwestern edges of its range.
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