About the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
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.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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. 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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, United States, India.
When to see it
Peak activity in January · a winter visitor species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Rock SandpiperCalidris ptilocnemisAdults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill.
Long-toed StintCalidris subminutaThe long-toed stint is a very small wader measuring just 13 to 16 cm (5.1 to 6.3 in) in length with a wingspan of 26.5 to 30.5 cm (10.4 to 12.0 in).
Great KnotCalidris tenuirostrisThe great knot is a medium-sized wader.
Learn the Spoon-billed Sandpiper for real
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