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Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusillaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Semipalmated Sandpiper Portrait
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General

Semipalmated Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and fine streaks on breast and sides. Bill is short, stout, and straight. Legs and feet are black. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is grayer.

Range and Habitat

Semipalmated Sandpiper: Breeds in lower Arctic regions from western Alaska to Labrador. Migrates through the interior and along the Atlantic coast to reach its wintering grounds, which extend from the southern U.S. to South America. Preferred habitats include shorelines and mudflats.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"churk", "churp", "kee-kee-kee-kee"

Interesting Facts

  • The Semipalmated Sandpiper is perhaps the most numerous shorebird in North America, sometimes occurring by the thousands during migration.
  • They are often found on mudflats feeding together with their close relatives, the Least and Western sandpipers.
  • The word "semipalmated," referring to the birds' toes, means "half-webbed." Actually the toes are only slightly lobed at their bases, but they do help the birds to walk on mud without sinking.
  • A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Semipalmated Sandpiper
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Calidris pusilla
Length6 - 7 Inches
Wingspan12 Inches

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and fine streaks on the breast and sides. The black bill is short, stout and straight. Feeds on insects, worms, small mollusks and crustaceans. Legs and feet are black. Swift flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Song: "churk", "churp", "kee-kee-kee-kee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Semipalmated Sandpiper: Feeds on insects and crustaceans; forages on mudflats.

● Breeding & nesting: Semipalmated Sandpiper: Two to four brown blotched, white to olive buff eggs are laid in a ground hollow lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 18 to 22 days and is carried out by both parents. Female abandons young after few days. First flight is at 14 to 19 days.

● Similar species: Semipalmated Sandpiper: Least Sandpiper is browner and has yellow legs. Western Sandpiper has longer bill.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with rapid wing beats.
Semipalmated Sandpiper Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Semipalmated Sandpiper: Breeds in lower Arctic regions from western Alaska to Labrador. Migrates through the interior and along the Atlantic coast to reach its wintering grounds, which extend from the southern U.S. to South America. Preferred habitats include shorelines and mudflats.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.1 Ounces