Surfbird
Calidris virgata
Stocky, short-legged shorebird that thrives on rocky shorelines. Look for short, blunt bill with orangey base and dull yellow legs. Overall gray with a white belly. In breeding plumage, develops more extensive dark spotting on underparts and rusty patches on the back. In flight, note white wing stripe and bold black-and-white tail pattern. Breeds on remote rocky mountains, mainly in Alaska. Almost always seen near the spray of incoming waves, usually on rocks, less commonly on beaches (especially in migration). Typically in flocks, mixed with turnstones.
Identification
The surfbird is a large sandpiper, reminiscent of the turnstones or the great knot. It measures 23 to 26 cm (9.1–10.2 in) and weighs 133–251 g (4.7–8.9 oz). The sexes look the same, but the females are slightly larger than males on average.<p>Surfbirds their breeding plumage from March through August, and have white heads, necks breast and belly which are streaked with black, except for the crown which are rusty. The streaking becomes less prominent lower in the body.
Taxonomy
The surfbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other sandpipers in the genus Tringa and coined the binomial name Tringa virgata. Gmelin based his description on the "streaked sandpiper" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham from a specimen collected in 1778 from Sandwich Sound (now Prince William Sound, Alaska) on James Cook's third voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The species was moved to the monotypic genus Aphriza by John James Audubon in 1839. It is now one of 24 species placed 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 virgata is from Latin virgatus meaning "striped" or "streaked". The species is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>The species was long thought to be allied to the turnstones, and placed in the subfamily Arenariinae. With the turnstones it has even been treated as its own family. More recent data suggests it is very close genetically to the red and great knots and should be included in Calidris. Indeed, the great knot looks very much like a larger, longer-billed, and somewhat darker surfbird.
- Scientific name
- Calidris virgata
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Range and habitat
The surfbird has the longest and narrowest non-breeding distribution of any North American bird, being found from Kodiak Island in Alaska to the Straits of Magellan at the southern tip of South America. Along that range it is rarely found more than a few meters from the shore. During the breeding season it is found on the mountains of Alaska and the western Yukon, from 150–1,800 m (490–5,910 ft).<p>The surfbird starts leaving its breeding grounds from July (the last leaving in October), and begins reaching its main wintering grounds in Chile and Peru in mid August. On its return migration it begins to leave South America in early March. Some birds remain on the wintering grounds year-round. Vagrant birds have been seen in the Falkland Islands, Florida, and Texas. The migration routes are almost entirely coastal, a very small number of birds have been seen inland during migration.<p>Its breeding habitat is alpine tundra, preferably rocky ridges dominated by scree, rock fields, lichens, dwarf shrubs and Dryas (mountain avens), and less commonly in tundra with mosses and sedges. It is generally found away from suitable habitat that is close to forest. In the non breeding season, it is a rocky shore specialist, feeding on rocky shores, reefs, and ledges on the coast. It will feed from the spray zone on the water's edge to just above the tide line. In some circumstances, it will feed on sandy beaches and mudflats near rocky areas.
- Breeding range
- NA : montane low Arctic to subarctic w Nearctic tundra: Alaska mainland (except far n) and Yukon (nw Canada)
- Non-breeding range
- w NA, LA : e Pacific rocky coasts from se Alaska to Tierra del Fuego
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-crested Tit-Tyrant
Anairetes nigrocristatus
Beautiful little flycatcher with a spiky crest found in the Andes of northern Peru, just barely reaching over the border into southern Ecuador. Male is quite distinctive with a solid black face, black-and-white streaking, and a long crest that sticks up in front of its white crown. Female and immature are grayer with less contrasting plumage and shorter crest; the orange bill might lead to confusion with Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, but Black-crested lacks brown on the back and yellow on the belly. Very similar to Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, but Black-crested has broader white tips to the tail; also note its more northern range. Inhabits scrub and light woodland, often giving squeaks and rapid trills.
Whistler's Warbler
Phylloscopus whistleri
One of a confusingly similar complex of species, this medium-sized warbler has a bright yellow eye-ring, a pale and indistinct wingbar, and a grayish crown bordered by two long black stripes. The weakness and greenish cast of the gray crown separates this species from various other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, such as Gray-crowned. Golden-spectacled Warbler is very similar; in Whistler’s, look out for an unbroken eye-ring, a shorter bill, a longer tail, and slightly duller green upperparts. Whistler’s breeds in high-altitude temperate broadleaf forest from around 2000 meters up to the treeline; averages higher in altitudinal breeding preferences than Golden-spectacled Warbler. Like other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, Whistler’s typically forages at lower and middle levels of forest, often mixing with other species and making flycatching sallies. Song consists of a 2- or 3-noted whistled phrase repeated 2-3 times without pause, lacking the trills of Golden-spectacled Warbler.
Sooty Shrikethrush
Colluricincla tenebrosa
A little-known, medium-sized bird of mid-montane forest thickets. Overall deep, sooty-brown color. Perches for long periods, scanning for insects. Skulking and difficult to see. Similar to Black Pitohui, and somewhere between the color of the black male and brown female, but Sooty Shrikethrush is smaller. Similar size various species of the Little Shrike-Thrush complex, but darker and found at higher elevation. Voice is little known, but apparently gives a loud, metallic alarm call.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.