Species: Actitis macularius

Spotted Sandpiper

Species

Birds

Show on Lists

Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Articles:

Bird populations improve after Elwha Dam removals

August 19, 2022

Dam removals are often associated with salmon recovery, but new research on the Elwha River suggests that birds also benefit. Scientists say birds are a sometimes-overlooked indicator of river health.

A single grey bird with a dark eye standing in flowing water of a river.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae

Genus

Actitis

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105831

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Maçarico-Pintado - Playero Alzacolita, Playerito Manchado - chevalier grivelé

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Actitis - Considered conspecific with Old World A. HYPOLEUCOS by some authors (AOU 1983).

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - false - true - Arrives in northern breeding areas in April-May, departs by September-October (Bent 1929); southward migration from breeding areas begins in June (Hayman et al. 1986). Migratory status of breeding populations where present all year in Pacific states? Migrates through Costa Rica early August-October and April-late May (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Arrives in northern South America by early August, most depart by early May (Hilty and Brown 1986).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Eats mainly small invertebrates obtained from surface or by probing along shores or some distance inland if insects are abundant there (Cogswell 1977).

Reproduction Comments

Clutch size commonly 4. Incubation 20-21 days, mainly by male; female may lay clutch for more than 1 male. Male may change mate if nest fails (Oring et al. 1983). Young attended by male, leave nest soon after hatching, fly at 13-16 days (Terres 1980). Sexually mature in one year, may live up to 12 years.

Ecology Comments

NON-BREEDING: defends individual territory; in small flocks to sleep (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Predation by single mink reduced local annual reproductive success from 30-50 chicks fledged to zero (Oring et al. 1983); mink predation was reduced significantly when a tern colony was present (Alberico et al. 1991). Normally does not flock.

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-25

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-25

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: northern and western Alaska eastward through northeastern Manitoba to Newfoundland, south to southern Alaska, Oregon, southern California, central Arizona, southern New Mexico, Texas, northern portions of Gulf states, Virginia, eastern Maryland, and North Carolina. NON-BREEDING: southwestern British Columbia, western Washington, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, southern Texas, Gulf coast, and coastal South Carolina south to West Indies and South America (to northern Chile, northern Argentina, and Uruguay). A few nonbreeders may summer in winter range.

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105831