Species: Calidris ptilocnemis
Rock Sandpiper
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Calidris
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Bécasseau des Aléoutiennes
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Calidris - C. MARITIMA and C. PTILOCNEMIS constitute a superspecies; they are regarded as conspecific by some authors (AOU 1983).
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A shorebird (sandpiper).
Migration
false - true - true - Arrives on breeding grounds in May after northward migration (Terres 1980). More northerly summer populations migrate farther south than do more southerly populations.
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Forages along rocky shores feeding on crustaceans, small mollusks, insects, and worms. Also eats algae, seeds, and berries.
Reproduction Comments
Breeding begins in early June (Harrison 1978). Clutch size usually 4. Incubation about 20 days, by both sexes. Nestlings precocial and downy. Young tended by both sexes.
Ecology Comments
Often seen in association with black turnstones and surfbirds.
Length
23
Weight
83
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1997-12-23
Global Status Last Changed
1997-12-23
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=__&US.AK=S4&US.CA=__&US.OR=__&US.WA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
GH - 200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles) - GH - BREEDING: west-central Alaska, on islands in Bering Sea, in Aleutian and Shumagin Islands, and in eastern Siberia on Chukotski Peninsula and the Commander Islands. NON-BREEDING: from southern Alaska south along Pacific coast to central California; in Eurasia from Commander Islands south to northern Kurile Islands (AOU 1983).
Global Range Code
GH
Global Range Description
200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)