Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

About Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

• The sharp-tailed sandpiper is a small wader bird that is an exceptionally uncommon visitor to India.
• Scientific Name: Its scientific name is Calidris acuminata.
  • It belongs to the Scolopacidae family.
• Habitat: It is found in freshwater marshes, coastal mudflats and sometimes inland areas.
• Breeding Ground: It breeds in northern Siberia, from the Lena River delta to the Kolyma region.
• Migration Route: It migrates south over East Asia to Australia and New Zealand and may occasionally use India as a passage route.
  • Smaller numbers fly to Melanasia, a cluster of islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean between New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east.

• Key Features:
  • Physical Appearance: It is a medium-sized sandpiper with a distinct cap.
    • Breeding adults have a rich chestnut cap, white eye-line, and chevrons and spots on the underparts.
    • Nonbreeding adults are duller greyish-brown with a drab brown cap.
    • while juveniles are brighter with a buffy breast, bright cap and contrasting white eye-line.
  • Identification: It has dull greenish legs and a variable pale colour at the base of the bill.
  • Sound: It gives excited “peep!” calls, often doubled, along with other soft twitters.
  • Diet: It feeds on seeds, worms, molluscs, crustaceans and insects, especially after rainfall.
• Threats:
  • Habitat loss and degradation
  • Pollution
  • Altered sediment flows
  • Rising sea levels
• Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable