Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper, breeding male on territory giving scold vocalization. Nome, Alaska. June.

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Worn, molting adult Semipalmated Sandpiper, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY. September.

Foraging juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper, Jamaica Bay, NY. September.

Juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper, Jamaica Bay, NY. September.

Newly hatched Semipalmated Sandpiper, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Photo by D. Plummer.

Typical deeper-water foraging behavior of the Semipalmated Sandpiper. Probing, tactile feeding. Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, New York.

Semipalmated Sandpiper clutch collected Port Manvers, Labrador, June 1912; from collections of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL. Photo by P. Lowther.

Semipalmated Sandpiper egg collected Port Manvers, Labrador, June 1912; from collections of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL. (scale shown in cm.) Photo by P. Lowther.

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

An abundant small shorebird, the Semipalmated Sandpiper breeds in the Arctic and winters along the coasts of South America.

Cool Facts

• Semipalmated Sandpipers from eastern populations probably undertake nonstop transoceanic flights of 3,000 - 4,000 km (1,900 - 2,500 mi) from New England and southern Canada to South America, powered by extensive fat reserves.

• The Semipalmated Sandpiper gets its common name from the short webs between its toes ("palmated" means webbed). The Western Sandpiper is the only other small shorebird with similarly webbed toes.

Description

• Size: 13-15 cm (5-6 in)
• Wingspan: 29-30 cm (11-12 in)
• Weight: 21-32 g (0.74-1.13 ounces)

Small sandpiper. Short neck. Moderately long bill, may droop slightly at tip. Moderately long legs. Black center of rump and tail. Legs black. Back gray-brown. Chest usually only lightly marked. Short webbing between toes (hard to see).

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, female slightly larger and with longer bill.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but with more scaly pattern on back.

Similar Species

• Western Sandpiper very similar, but usually has longer, more drooping bill.
• Least Sandpiper has a more reddish back, more distinct markings on the chest, and yellow legs.

Sound

Call a loud "cherk."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds along northern and coastal Alaska across northern Canada to Labrador. Also in eastern Siberia.

Winter Range

Winters along northern and central coasts of South America.

Habitat

Breeds on open tundra, generally near water. Winters and migrates along mudflats, sandy beaches, shores of lakes and ponds, and wet meadows.

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Active and covered with down.

Conservation Status

Common.

Other Names

Bécasseau semipalmé (Spanish)
Correlimos semipalmeado (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Gratto-Trevor, C. L. 1992. Semipalmated Sandpiper. In The Birds of North America, No. 6 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists? Union.