Rock Sandpiper

About the Rock Sandpiper

The rock sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Alaska and the Chukotka and Kamchatka Peninsulas. It is closely related to the purple sandpiper that breeds in arctic regions of northeast Canada and the northwest Palearctic, and in the past was often considered conspecific with it.

The rock sandpiper was formally described in 1873 by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues and given the binomial name Tringa ptilocnemis. It was formerly sometimes placed in the genus Erolia, but is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genus Calidris that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific epithet ptilocnemis combines the Ancient Greek ptilon meaning "feather" with knēmē meaning "leg". Within the genus Calidris the rock sandpiper is sister to the purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima), and next most closely related to the sanderling (Calidris alba) and dunlin (Calidris alpina).

Four subspecies... Wikipedia →