Stilt Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris (disputed)
Species: C. himantopus
Binomial name
Calidris himantopus
(Bonaparte, 1826)
Synonyms

Micropalama himantopus
Stilt Sandpiper Quintana, Texas

The Stilt Sandpiper, Calidris himantopus or Micropalama himantopus, is a small shorebird; it bears some resemblance to the smaller calidrid sandpipers or "stints". DNA sequence information is incapable of determining whether it should be placed in Calidris or in the monotypic genus Micropalama (Thomas et al., 2004). It appears most closely allied with the Curlew Sandpiper,[2] which is another aberrant species only tentatively placed in Calidris and could conceivably separated with it in Erolia.

The Stilt Sandpiper breeds in the open arctic tundra of North America. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering mainly in northern South America. It occurs as a rare vagrant in western Europe, Japan and northern Australia.[3]

This species nests on the ground, laying three or four eggs. The male has a display flight. Outside the breeding season, this bird is normally found on inland waters, rather than open coasts.

This species resembles the Curlew Sandpiper in its curved bill, long neck, pale supercilium and white rump. It is readily distinguished from that species by its much longer and paler legs, which give rise to its common and scientific names. It also lacks an obvious wing bar in flight.

Breeding adults are distinctive, heavily barred beneath, and with reddish patches above and below the supercilium. The back is brown with darker feather centres. Winter plumage is basically gray above and white below.

Juvenile Stilt Sandpipers resemble the adults in their strong head pattern and brownish back, but they are not barred below, and show white fringes on the back feathering.

These birds forage on muddy, picking up food by sight, often jabbing like the dowitchers with which they often associate. They mainly eat insects and other invertebrates.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2008). Calidris himantopus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 26 July 2009.
  2. ^ Jehl, Jr., Joseph R.. "Breeding Biology and Systematic Relationships of the Stilt Sandpiper" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin 85 (2): 115–147. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v085n02/p0115-p0147.pdf. 
  3. ^ Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John; Prater, Tony (1986). Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 384–385. ISBN 0-395-60237-8. 

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stilt sandpiper — Sandpiper Sand pi per, n. 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small limicoline game birds belonging to {Tringa}, {Actodromas}, {Ereunetes}, and various allied genera of the family {Tringid[ae]}. [1913 Webster] Note: The most important… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stilt sandpiper — Stilt Stilt, n. [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.] 1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stilt sandpiper — noun : a rather rare American sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus) having very long legs and semipalmate feet and a bill somewhat expanded at the tip * * * stilt sandpiper, a long legged American sandpiper with a gray back and white rump …   Useful english dictionary

  • stilt sandpiper — ilgakojis bėgikas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Calidris himantopus; Micropalama himantopus angl. stilt sandpiper vok. Bindenstrandläufer, m rus. длинноногий зуёк, m; ходулочниковый зуёк, m pranc. bécasseau à échasses,… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • stilt sandpiper — ilgakojai bėgikai statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Micropalama angl. stilt sandpiper vok. Bindenstrandläufer, m rus. длинноногий зуёк, m; ходулочниковый зуёк, m pranc. bécasseau à échasses, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas –… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Sandpiper — Sand pi per, n. 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small limicoline game birds belonging to {Tringa}, {Actodromas}, {Ereunetes}, and various allied genera of the family {Tringid[ae]}. [1913 Webster] Note: The most important North… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stilt — Stilt, n. [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.] 1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is sometimes… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stilt plover — Stilt Stilt, n. [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.] 1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stilt plover — Stilt Stilt, n. [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.] 1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curlew sandpiper — Sandpiper Sand pi per, n. 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small limicoline game birds belonging to {Tringa}, {Actodromas}, {Ereunetes}, and various allied genera of the family {Tringid[ae]}. [1913 Webster] Note: The most important… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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