Spoon-billed sandpiper

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Spoon-billed sandpiper
Eurynorhynchus pygmeus 2 - Pak Thale.jpg
non-breeding
Eurynorhynchus pygmeusIbis1869P012AA.jpg
breeding
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris
Species:
C. pygmaea
Binomial name
Calidris pygmaea
Calidris pygmaea distribution.svg
Synonyms
  • Platalea pygmeaLinnaeus, 1758
  • Eurynorhynchus pygmeus(Linnaeus, 1758)
A "spoonie" on the breeding grounds in Chukotka, Siberia, June 2015. Skeryle han pa ynglepladsen.jpg
A "spoonie" on the breeding grounds in Chukotka, Siberia, June 2015.

The spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) 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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Platalea pygmea was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. [2] It was moved to Eurynorhynchus by Sven Nilsson in 1821. [3] It is now classified under the calidrid sandpipers. [4] [1]

Description

Head SpoonbilledSandpiper.jpg
Head

The most distinctive feature of this species is its spatulate bill. The breeding adult bird has a red-brown head, neck and breast with dark brown streaks, blackish upperparts with buff and pale rufous fringing. Non-breeding adults lack the reddish colouration, but have pale brownish-grey upperparts with whitish fringing to the wing-coverts. The underparts are white and the legs are black. It is 14–16 cm (5.5–6.3 in) long. [5]

Bill from the side and above SpoonbillSandpiperNewton.jpg
Bill from the side and above

The measurements are; wing 98–106 mm, bill 19–24 mm, bill tip breadth 10–12 mm, tarsus 19–22 mm and tail 37–39 mm. [6]

The contact calls of the spoon-billed sandpiper include a quiet preep or a shrill wheer. The song, given during display, is an intermittent buzzing and descending trill preer-prr-prr. The display flight of the male includes brief hovers, circling and rapid diving while singing.[ citation needed ]

Distribution and habitat

A spoon-billed sandpiper Spoon-billed sandpiper.jpg
A spoon-billed sandpiper

The spoon-billed sandpiper's breeding habitat is sea coasts and adjacent hinterland on the Chukchi Peninsula and southwards along the isthmus of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It migrates down the Pacific coast through Japan, Korea and China, to its main wintering grounds in south and southeast Asia, where it has been recorded from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. [1]

Through phylogenetic analyses for the complete mitogenome sequence, South Korean and Chinese C. pygmaea groups were indicated to be closely related to Arenaria interpres because of the similarity in the series of protein-coding genes. [7]

In March 2024, a spoon-billed sandpiper was sighted in the Philippines at Balanga, Bataan mudflat. [8]

Behaviour and ecology

Its feeding style consists of a side-to-side movement of the bill as the bird walks forward with its head down. This species nests in June–July on coastal areas in the tundra, choosing locations with grass close to freshwater pools. [6] Spoon-billed sandpipers feed on the moss in tundras, as well as smaller animal species like mosquitoes, flies, beetles, and spiders. At certain points in time, they also feed on marine invertebrates such as shrimp and worms. [9]

Conservation

This bird is critically endangered, with a current population of fewer than 2500 – probably fewer than 1000 – mature individuals. The main threats to its survival are habitat loss on its breeding grounds and loss of tidal flats through its migratory and wintering range. [1] The important staging area at Saemangeum, South Korea, has already been partially reclaimed, and the remaining wetlands are under serious threat of reclamation in the near future. [5] Long-term remote sensing studies have shown that up to 65% of key spoon-billed sandpiper habitat in China, South Korea and North Korea has been destroyed by reclamation. [10] [11] A 2010 study suggests that hunting in Burma by traditional bird trappers is a primary cause of the decline. [12]

Protected areas in its staging and wintering areas include Yancheng in China, Mai Po Marshes in Hong Kong and Point Calimere and Chilka lake in India. [5] [13] As of 2016, the global spoon-billed sandpiper population was estimated at 240–456 mature individuals or at maximum 228 pairs. [1]

Formerly classified as an Endangered species by the IUCN, [1] recent research shows that its numbers are decreasing more and more rapidly and that it is on the verge of extinction. It is consequently reclassified to Critically Endangered status in 2008. [1] [5] [14] The population was estimated at only 120–200 pairs in 2009–2010, perhaps indicating an 88% decline since 2002 equating to an annual rate of decline of 26%. [15] Land reclamation of the Saemangeum estuary in South Korea removed an important migration staging point, and hunting on the important wintering grounds in Burma has emerged as a serious threat. This species may become extinct in 10–20 years. [16]

In November 2011, thirteen spoon-billed sandpipers arrived at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom to start a breeding programme. The birds hatched from eggs collected in remote northeastern Russian tundra earlier and spent 60 days in Moscow Zoo in quarantine in preparation for the 8,000 km journey. [17] Artificial incubation and captive rearing, termed headstarting , were expected to increase survival rates from less than 25% to over 75%, and the removal of eggs was expected to lead to a second clutch reared by the parents. [18] In 2019, almost a decade since the rescue mission, the two birds were first to be born in a UK spoon-billed sandpiper ark. [19] In 2013, conservationists hatched twenty chicks in Chukotka. [18]

An education kit for teaching about the bird and about environmental conservation (in English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Burmese) is being used to help wetland conservation in the countries it inhabits. [20]

The Photo Ark

In July 2022, National Geographic announced that the spoon-billed sandpiper was the milestone 13,000th animal photographed for The Photo Ark . [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWT Slimbridge</span> Wetland nature reserve in Gloucestershire

WWT Slimbridge is a wetland wildlife reserve near Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, England. It is midway between Bristol and Gloucester on the eastern side of the estuary of the River Severn. The reserve, set up by the artist and naturalist Sir Peter Scott, opened in November 1946. Scott subsequently founded the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, which has since opened nine other reserves around the country. Slimbridge comprises some 800 hectares of pasture, reed bed, lagoon and salt marsh. Many water birds live there all year round, and others are migrants on their ways to and from their summer breeding grounds. Other birds overwinter, including large numbers of white-fronted geese and increasing numbers of Bewick's swans.

<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">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">Red knot</span> Species of bird

The red knot or just knot is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the great knot. Six subspecies are recognised.

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

The red-necked stint is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus, "red" and collum, "neck".

<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">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.

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<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">Pectoral sandpiper</span> Species of bird

The pectoral sandpiper 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).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saemangeum</span> Tidal flat in South Korea

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Birds Korea is an organisation dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in South Korea and the wider Yellow Sea Eco-region.

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The year 2012 in birding and ornithology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BirdLife International (2018). "Calidris pygmaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22693452A134202771. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22693452A134202771.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Linnaeus, C. (1758). "Platalea pygmea". Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. Tomus I (decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 140.
  3. ↑ Nilsson, S. (1821). "Eurynorhynchus". Ornithologica Suecica. Vol. Ordo Grallipedes. Havniae: J.H. Schubothium. p. 29.
  4. ↑ Thomas, G.H.; Wills, M.A.; Székely, T. (2004). "A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny". BMC Evolutionary Biology . 4: 28. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 . PMC   515296 . PMID   15329156.
  5. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (BLI) (2008a). Spoon-billed Sandpiper Species Factsheet. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  6. 1 2 Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John & Prater, Tony (1986). Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. ISBN   0-395-60237-8
  7. ↑ Joen, H.-S.; Lee, M.-Y.; Choi, Y.-S.; et al. (2017). "Mitochondrial genome analysis of the spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus)". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 2 (1): 150–151. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2017.1298415 . PMC   7799702 . PMID   33473748.
  8. ↑ Fuentes-Bajarias, L.-A. (17 March 2024). "World's rarest, most threatened migratory shore bird spotted in PH". MSN . Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Dixon, J. (1918). "The nesting grounds and nesting habits of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper" (PDF). The Auk. 35 (4): 387–403. doi:10.2307/4073213. JSTOR   4073213.
  10. ↑ Murray N. J., Clemens R. S., Phinn S. R., Possingham H. P. & Fuller R. A. (2014). Tracking the rapid loss of tidal wetlands in the Yellow Sea. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12, 267–72. doi : 10.1890/130260
  11. ↑ MacKinnon, J.; Verkuil, Y.I.; Murray, N.J. (2012). IUCN situation analysis on East and Southeast Asian intertidal habitats, with particular reference to the Yellow Sea (including the Bohai Sea). Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. ISBN   9782831712550. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Zöckler, C.; Htin Hla, T.; Clark, N.; Syroechkovskiy, E.; Yakushev, N.; Daengphayon, S. & Robinson, R. (2010). "Hunting in Myanmar is probably the main cause of the decline of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmeus" (PDF). Wader Study Group Bulletin. 117 (1): 1–8.
  13. ↑ Sharma, A. (2003). "First records of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmeus in the Indian Sundarbans delta, West Bengal" (PDF). Forktail. 19: 136–137. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2008.
  14. ↑ BirdLife International (BLI) (2008b). [2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  15. ↑ Zöckler, Christoph; Syroechkovskiy, E.E.; Atkinson, P.W. (2010). "Rapid and continued population decline in the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus indicates imminent extinction unless conservation action is taken". Bird Conservation International. 20 (2): 95–111. doi: 10.1017/S0959270910000316 .
  16. ↑ Pitches, Adrian (2010). "Spoon-billed Sandpiper on a knife-edge". British Birds. 103: 473–478. The hunting in Burma and extinction prediction reported in BB was based on Wader Study Group Bulletin 117 (2010)
  17. ↑ Gill, V. (2011). "Endangered spoon-billed sandpipers arrive in UK". BBC Nature. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  18. 1 2 "20 Critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper chicks hatched by scientists". Wildlife Extra. July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Extinction: A million species at risk, so what is saved?". BBC News. 2019.
  20. ↑ Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS); Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBS) (11 August 2021). "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Teaching Kit for school teachers and education leaders". Eaaflyway. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Spoon-billed sandpiper joins National Geographic Photo Ark as 13,000th Species". nationalgeographic.org. National Geographic. 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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