Pectoral sandpiper

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Pectoral sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper3.jpg
Adult in breeding plumage
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris
Species:
C. melanotos
Binomial name
Calidris melanotos
(Vieillot, 1819)
Calidris melanotos map.svg
Synonyms

Actodromas maculata
Erolia melanotos

The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) is a small, migratory wader that breeds in North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 21 cm (8.3 in) long, with a wingspan of 46 cm (18 in).

Contents

Taxonomy

The pectoral sandpiper is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic curlew sandpiper ("C." ferruginea), the type species of Erolia. In any case, the genus name Ereunetes—formerly used for the western sandpiper ("C." mauri) and semipalmated sandpiper ("C." pusilla), which are also members of the stint clade—was established before Erolia.

"Cox's sandpiper" ("Calidris" × paramelanotos) is a stereotyped hybrid between this species and the curlew sandpiper. This does not prove a particularly close relationship between these two species, as far more distantly related waders have successfully hybridized. In any case, among the stint clade the red-necked stint ("C." ruficollis) and the long-toed stint ("C." subminuta) are particularly close relatives of the pectoral sandpiper. [2]

The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name kalidris or skalidris, is a term used by Aristotle for some gray-colored waterside birds. The specific melanotos is from melas, "black" and notos, "backed ". [3]

Description

Adult in breeding plumage; note sharp margin of breast colour Pectoral-Sandpiper017.jpg
Adult in breeding plumage; note sharp margin of breast colour

This bird looks similar to the widely sympatric sharp-tailed sandpiper ("C." acuminata), which is not a member of the stint clade however. The pectoral sandpiper is a largish calidrid (21 cm (8.3 in) in length, with a wingspan of 46 cm (18 in)) [4] with a grey-brown back, brownest in the summer male, and grayest in winter. The pectoral sandpiper has a grey breast, sharply demarcated at its lower edge, which gives this species its English name; this clear dividing line is particularly conspicuous if the birds are turned towards the observer. The legs are yellowish, and the bill is olive with a darker tip.

The juveniles are more brightly patterned above with rufous coloration and white mantle stripes.

This species differs from the sharp-tailed sandpiper in its breast pattern, weaker supercilium and grayer crown.

Standard Measurements [5] [6]
length 200–240 mm (8–9.6 in)
weight 73 g (2.6 oz)
wingspan 460 mm (18 in)
wing 136–142.8 mm (5.35–5.62 in)
tail 60.4–63.9 mm (2.38–2.52 in)
culmen 28.7–29.3 mm (1.13–1.15 in)
tarsus 27.8–30 mm (1.09–1.18 in)

Distribution and ecology

At Cosumnes River Preserve in Sacramento County, California. PectoralSandpiper-1OCT2016.jpg
At Cosumnes River Preserve in Sacramento County, California.

It is a very long-distance migrant, and about half of the species breeds in the boggy tundra of northeast Asia, the rest nesting in a range from Alaska to central Canada. [7] The American and most of the Asian birds winter in South America, but some Asian breeders winter in southern and Australia and New Zealand. On migration and in winter, the pectoral sandpiper is typically found in freshwater habitats.

This species also occurs as a regular migrant to western Europe, and is seen most years in Ireland or Great Britain. [8] While the pectoral sandpiper has not been recorded as breeding species in Europe, vagrant individuals were found in Scotland in suitable breeding habitat during summer. [9] Many of the birds occurring in Western Europe may be on a regular migration from Asian breeding grounds to winter in Southern Africa. [10] September 2003 saw a record influx to those two countries, with 40 found in Ireland and 150 in Great Britain. On the US Pacific coast, such stagings of migrant flocks appear to be rarer. [11] Vagrant individuals are sometimes seen elsewhere off the usual migration routes, e.g. on the Marianas, the Marshall Islands and Palau in Micronesia; they are somewhat more frequently encountered on the Hawaiian Islands. [12] [13] [14]

The pectoral sandpiper's migration might be affected by global warming, as is suspected for many Arctic-breeding birds: 100 years ago, migrating pectoral sandpipers were observed to pass through northern Ohio in early-mid May and again in late August; today, the bulk of the northward migration takes place in April already, and most birds do not return until mid-September. [15] [16]

These birds forage on grasslands and mudflats, picking up food by sight, sometimes by probing. They mainly eat arthropods (such as flies and their larvae, spiders and crustaceans) [17] and other invertebrates, as well as seeds. [17] The male has a courtship display which involves puffing up his breast, which has a fat sac in the breeding season to enhance his performance.

The pectoral sandpiper builds a steep-sided scrape nest with a considerable volume of lining material. The nest is deep enough that the eggs sit about 3 cm (1.2 in) below ground level, which helps to minimize heat loss from the cool breezes which occur at the latitudes where the species nests. [18] The female lays four eggs.

Pectoral sandpipers have decreased in number 50% since 1974. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semipalmated sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The semipalmated sandpiper is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stint</span> Group of birds

A stint is one of several very small waders in the paraphyletic "Calidris" assemblage – often separated in Erolia – which in North America are known as peeps. They are scolopacid waders much similar in ecomorphology to their distant relatives, the charadriid plovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunlin</span> Species of bird

The dunlin is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus Erolia. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little stint</span> Species of bird

The little stint is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific minuta is Latin for "small.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Least sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The least sandpiper is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific minutilla is Medieval Latin for "very small".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The purple sandpiper is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlantic coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The western sandpiper is a small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific mauri commemorates Italian botanist Ernesto Mauri (1791–1836).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-rumped sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The white-rumped sandpiper is a small shorebird that breeds in the northern tundra of Canada and Alaska. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baird's sandpiper</span> Species of bird

Baird's sandpiper is a small shorebird. It is among those calidrids which were formerly included in the genus Erolia, which was subsumed into the genus Calidris in 1973. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The English name and specific bairdii commemorate Spencer Fullerton Baird, 19th-century naturalist and assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The common sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper, make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize. Hybridization has also been reported between the common sandpiper and the green sandpiper, a basal species of the closely related shank genus Tringa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The wood sandpiper is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific glareola is from Latin glarea, " gravel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temminck's stint</span> Species of bird

Temminck's stint is a small wader. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curlew sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The curlew sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-billed sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The broad-billed sandpiper is a small wading bird. The scientific name is from Latin. The specific name falcinella is from falx, falcis, "a sickle. Some research suggests that it should rather go into the genus Philomachus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terek sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The Terek sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species and is the only member of the genus Xenus. It is named after the Terek River which flows into the west of the Caspian Sea, as it was first observed around this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-toed stint</span> Species of bird

The long-toed stint is a small wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific subminuta is from Latin sub, "near to" and minuta, "small" from its similarity to the little stint, Calidris minuta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharp-tailed sandpiper</span> Species of shorebird

The sharp-tailed sandpiper is a small-medium migratory wader or shorebird, found mostly in Siberia during the summer breeding period and Australia for wintering.

<i>Calidris</i> Genus of birds

Calidris is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. Migratory shorebirds are shown to have decline in reproductive traits because of temporal changes of their breeding seasons(Weiser et al., 2018). They are the typical "sandpipers", small to medium-sized, long-winged and relatively short-billed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stilt sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The stilt sandpiper is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name kalidris or skalidris is a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific himantopus means "strap foot" or "thong foot".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spoon-billed sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The spoon-billed sandpiper is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has decreased significantly. By 2000, the estimated breeding population of the species was 350–500.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Calidris melanotos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22693408A93404396. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693408A93404396.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A.; Székely, Tamás (2004). "A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 4: 28. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 . PMC   515296 . PMID   15329156. Supplementary Material
  3. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  84, 248. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ↑ Robinson, R.A. "Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos". BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (BTO Research Report 407). Thetford: bto.org . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Godfrey, W. Earl (1966). The Birds of Canada. Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. p. 152.
  6. ↑ Sibley, David Allen (2000). The Sibley Guide to Birds . New York: Knopf. p.  184. ISBN   0-679-45122-6.
  7. ↑ "TAXON: Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Harrison, Graham; Harrison, Janet (2005). The New Birds of the West Midlands. West Midland Bird Club. ISBN   0-9507881-2-0. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ Vittery, Alan (1997). The Birds of Sutherland. Colin Baxter Photography. ISBN   1-900455-18-8.
  10. ↑ Lees, A.C.; Gilroy, J.G. (2004). "Pectoral Sandpipers in Europe: vagrancy patterns and the influx of 2003". British Birds . 97 (12): 638–646.
  11. ↑ For example the species was described as "unusual" in San Mateo County, California in the late 19th century, despite nearby San Francisco Bay offering excellent stopover habitat: Littlejohn, Chase (1916): Some unusual records for San Mateo County, California. Presentation at Cooper Club Northern Division Monthly Meeting, November 18, 1915. Abstract in "Minutes of Cooper Club Meeting" (PDF). Condor . 18 (1): 38–40. 1916. doi:10.2307/1362896. JSTOR   1362896.
  12. ↑ Wiles, Gary J.; Johnson, Nathan C.; de Cruz, Justine B.; Dutson, Guy; Camacho, Vicente A.; Kepler, Angela Kay; Vice, Daniel S.; Garrett, Kimball L.; Kessler, Curt C.; Pratt, H. Douglas (2004). "New and Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia, 1986–2003". Micronesica. 37 (1): 69–96.
  13. ↑ VanderWerf, Eric A. (2006). "Observations on the birds of Kwajalein Atoll, including six new species records for the Marshall Islands". Micronesica. 38 (2): 221–237.
  14. ↑ VanderWerf, Eric A.; Wiles, Gary J.; Marshall, Ann P.; Knecht, Melia (2006). "Observations of migrants and other birds in Palau, April–May 2005, including the first Micronesian record of a Richard's Pipit". Micronesica. 39 (1): 11–29.
  15. ↑ Henninger, W.F. (1906). "A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin . 18 (2): 47–60.
  16. ↑ "Annotated Ohio state checklist" (PDF). Ohio Ornithological Society. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2004.
  17. 1 2 https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Calidris_melanotos%20-%20Pectoral%20Sandpiper.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  18. ↑ Reid, J.M.; Cresswell, W.; Holt, S.; Mellanby, R.J.; Whitfield, D.P.; Ruxton, G.D. (2002). "Nest scrape design and clutch heat loss in Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)". Functional Ecology. 16 (3): 305–312. Bibcode:2002FuEco..16..305R. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00632.x.
  19. ↑ Fitzpatrick, John W. (2018-04-27). "Opinion | Shorebirds, the World's Greatest Travelers, Face Extinction". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-04-27.

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