Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Calidris subruficollis
Elegant buffy sandpiper; peaceful-looking with large eye and plain face. Relatively short bill and medium-length yellow legs. Adults and juveniles similar, but juveniles show crisp scaly back pattern. Similar to Baird's Sandpiper but longer yellow legs and more evenly buffy coloration extending onto the belly. Smaller than Upland Sandpiper and lacks extensive dark markings on face, neck, and sides. Breeds on Arctic tundra. During migration, found in dry habitats such as plowed fields, sod farms, and higher areas of beaches. Winters in South America.
Identification
This species is brown above and has a buff face and underparts in all plumages. It has a short bill and yellow legs. Males are larger than females. Juveniles resemble the adults but may be paler on the rear underparts.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Calidris subruficollis
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1819)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Range and habitat
C. subruficollis breeds in the open arctic tundra of North America and is a very long-distance migrant, spending the non-breeding season mainly in South America, especially Argentina.<p>It migrates mainly through central North America and is uncommon on the coasts. It occurs as a regular wanderer in Western Europe and is not classed as rare in Great Britain or Ireland, where small flocks have occurred. Only the pectoral sandpiper is a more common American shorebird visitor to Europe.<p>This species nests as far north as Canada including Alaska on the ground, laying four eggs. The male has a display which includes raising the wings to display the white undersides, which is also given on migration, sometimes when no other buff-breasted sandpipers are present. Outside the breeding season, this bird is normally found in short-grass habitats such as airfields or golf courses, rather than near water.<p>These birds pick up food by sight, mainly eating insects and other invertebrates. The buff-breasted sandpipers are known to prey on Bombus polaris, a species of bumblebee found within the Arctic Circle. They will either eat the bees or feed them to their young. They are often very tame.<p>Buff-breasted sandpipers are suspected to have hybridized with the white-rumped or Baird's sandpiper.<p>This species has been sighted in South Asia on at least three occasions. It is believed that instead of going to Argentina, this bird might have been wind-blown from the Great Plains Flyway of North America and landed up in South Asia. In November 2011, this species was sighted near Kannur, Kerala in South India. The buff-breasted sandpiper has also been recorded in Australia on at least eight occasions. It was recorded again from Madayipara, Kannur in 2023.<p>In 1978, Phillips recorded the species from Sri Lanka, and after that, very few sightings were recorded. In 2001 a single bird was also recorded in Marievale, South Africa.
- Breeding range
- NA, PAL : high Arctic dry coastal tundra of far ne Palearctic and n Nearctic: n Chukotka e from Wrangel I. (n of ne Siberia), Alaskan North Slope from Pt. Barrow e through ne Canada, including Arctic is. from Banks to Devon is. (ne Canada)
- Non-breeding range
- se SA : coastal and inland grassland of subtropical s Neotropics: se Brazil, Uruguay and n, c Argentina; prone to extreme vagrancy worldwide
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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