Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
- GenusCalidris (Calidris Sandpipers)
- SpeciesCalidris melanotos (Pectoral Sandpiper)
About the Pectoral Sandpiper
The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 38–46 cm (15–18 in).
In the past widely seen as most closely related to sharp-tailed sandpiper, more recent genetic evidence has shown more complex relationships between the species of Calidris, with its closest genetic relatives probably the semipalmated sandpiper and western sandpiper species pair.
Cox's sandpiper, originally described as a new species Calidris paramelanotos, has proven to be a stereotyped hybrid between this species and the curlew sandpiper. This does not prove a particularly close relationship between these two species, as far more distantly related waders have produced hybrids.
The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name kalidris or skalidris, is a term used by Aristotle for some... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Pectoral Sandpiper in Sierra de la Macarena National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Sierra de la Macarena National Park
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutilla
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes
Upland Sandpiper
Bartramia longicauda
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
Large-billed Tern
Phaetusa simplex
Yellow-billed Tern
Sternula superciliaris
Pied Lapwing
Hoploxypterus cayanus
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.