Purple sandpiper
Purple sandpiper | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Scolopacidae |
Genus: | Calidris |
Species: | C. maritima
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Binomial name | |
Calidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764)
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Range of C. maritima Breeding Resident Non-breeding Passage
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Synonyms | |
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The purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) is a small
Taxonomy
The purple sandpiper was
Description
Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black. They measure 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) in length and 42–46 cm (17–18 in) across the wings, and weight is from 50–105 g (1.8–3.7 oz).[9]
Standard Measurements[10][11] | |
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Total Body Length | 210–240 mm (8.1–9.5 in) |
Weight | 70 g (2.5 oz) |
Wingspan | 430 mm (17 in) |
Wing | 117.9–130 mm (4.64–5.12 in) |
Tail | 55.9–63 mm (2.20–2.48 in) |
Culmen | 27.2–32 mm (1.07–1.26 in) |
Tarsus | 22–23.8 mm (0.87–0.94 in) |
Distribution and habitat
The purple sandpiper's breeding range extends from the arctic islands of northern Canada, eastwards to Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard and northern Scandinavia across to Western Siberia and the Taymyr Peninsula. In the high arctic the sandpiper breeds at low altitude on the tundra, sometimes far from the coastline, but in the subarctic regions of Sweden and Norway it breeds on barren mountain sides near the limit of the frozen ground. Birds breeding at high latitudes migrate south and spend the winter on rocky shores on both sides of the north Atlantic. They winter along the North America coast as far south as South Carolina and on the eastern Atlantic coast as far south as France and northern Iberia.[12]
Birds wintering in northern Scotland and southwest Ireland migrate to Canada (Baffin Island and Devon Island) to breed.[13]
In Britain, these birds occur in winter in good numbers principally along the east and south coasts, where they favour rocky shorelines adjacent to the sea.[citation needed] It is much rarer as a breeding bird, found only in a localised area of the Cairngorms National Park, where 1–3 pairs have bred since 1978. Records of breeding by this species in the UK are monitored and archived by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel.[14][15]
They are late migrants and move to rocky, ice-free Atlantic coasts in winter.[citation needed] Most go no further south than North Carolina and northern Portugal. They are fairly gregarious, forming small flocks, often with ruddy turnstones. This species is tame and approachable.[16]
Behaviour and ecology
Breeding
Their breeding habitat is the northern tundra on Arctic islands in Canada and coastal areas in Greenland and northwestern Europe. They can breed at one year of age. The males makes several scrapes on the ground; the female chooses one and lays 3 or 4 eggs. These are olive with brown blotches and are approximately 37 mm × 26 mm (1.5 in × 1.0 in) in size. The male takes the major responsibility for incubation of the eggs which hatch in 21–22 days.[17] The chicks are covered with dense down. The upperparts have black and cinnamon patches with white specks; the underparts are mainly white.[18] Usually only the male tends the chicks which can feed themselves.[17] The maximum age recorded from ring-recovery data in Europe is 20 years and 9 months for a bird recovered in Sweden.[19]
An apparent case of hybridization between this species and the dunlin has been reported from England.[20]
Feeding
These birds forage on rocky coasts, picking up food by sight.
Status
The purple sandpiper has an extremely large range and although the population appears to be decreasing, the population is very large. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has judged that the threat to the species is of "Least concern".[1] The purple sandpiper is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.[23]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Brünnich, Morten Thrane (1764). M. Th. Brünnichii Ornithologia borealis, sistens collectionem avium : ex omnibus, Imperio danico subjectis, provinciis insulisqve borealibus Hafniæ factam, cum descriptionibus novarum, nominibus incolarum, locis natalium et icone (in Latin). Hafniae [Copenhagen]: Imprimatur J.C. Kall. pp. 54–55.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 285.
- ^ Committee on Classification and Nomenclature (1973). "Thirty-Second Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds". Auk. 90 (2): 411-419 [415].
- ^ Merrem, Blasius (8 June 1804). "Naturgeschichte". Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung (in German). 168. Col. 542. Published anonymously.
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Sandpipers, snipes, coursers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- .
- ^ "Purple Sandpiper". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- ^ Godfrey, W. Earl (1966). The Birds of Canada. Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. p. 151.
- ISBN 0-679-45122-6.
- ^ Payne, L.X.; Pierce, E.P. (2020). Billerman, S.M. (ed.). "Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- .
- ^ Sharrock, J.T.R.; Rare Birds Breeding Panel (1980). "Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 1978". British Birds. 73 (1): 5–26 [18].
- ^ Holling, Mark; Rare Birds Breeding Panel (2016). "Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2014". British Birds. 109 (9): 491–545 [521].
- ^ Cramp 1983, p. 350.
- ^ a b Cramp 1983, p. 353.
- ^ Cramp 1983, p. 354.
- ^ "European Longevity Records". Euring. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Millington, Richard (1994). "A mystery Calidris at Cley". Birding World. 7 (2): 61–63. Archived from the original on 17 June 2004.
- ^ Cramp 1983, p. 348.
- ISSN 0006-3657.
- ^ "Species". Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). Retrieved 14 November 2021.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-19-857506-1.
External links
- Purple sandpiper facts on BTO BirdFacts
- Purple sandpiper information at eNature.com
- BirdLife species factsheet for Calidris maritima
- "Calidris maritima". Avibase.
- "Purple sandpiper media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Purple sandpiper photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Calidris maritima at IUCN Red List maps
- Audio recordings of Purple sandpiper on Xeno-canto.
- Calidris maritima in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr