The purple sandpiper is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlantic coast.
Region
North Atlantic and Arctic regions
Typical Environment
Breeds in arctic and subarctic tundra across northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and northern Scandinavia/Russia. In winter it disperses south along cold, wave-swept Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe. Unlike many sandpipers, it favors rocky shorelines, jetties, and breakwaters over sandy beaches. On the breeding grounds it uses wet tundra, rocky ridges, and mossy hummocks near freshwater.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Polar
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A hardy shorebird of the North Atlantic, the purple sandpiper famously frequents wave-battered rocky coasts in winter—habitats avoided by most other small sandpipers. Its plumage can show a subtle purplish sheen in certain light, which gives the species its name. It often forages unfazed by surf, picking invertebrates from crevices and tide pools.
Summer plumage
Winter plumage
Eggs of C. maritima
Temperament
social and hardy
Flight Pattern
low, direct flight with rapid wingbeats; strong flier over surf
Social Behavior
Often forms small to medium flocks in winter, especially on rocky piers and headlands. Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape lined with vegetation on tundra. Pairs are seasonal, and both sexes attend the nest and young. Broods are precocial and leave the nest shortly after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Generally quiet; gives soft trills and rattling twitters on the breeding grounds. Common calls include a low, rolling 'prrip' or 'trrt' given in flight and while foraging. Display flights feature slightly accelerated, chattering notes.
Plumage
Dense, scaly-looking plumage that is dark slate-gray to brownish above with a subtle purplish gloss, paler underparts with mottling, and a narrow white wingbar in flight.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small marine invertebrates including amphipods, isopods, small mollusks, barnacles, and marine worms. On breeding grounds it takes insects such as midges and beetles, and occasionally small crustaceans from freshwater margins. It may also pick bits of algae or plant matter incidentally while probing.
Preferred Environment
In winter, forages on exposed rocky shores, tide pools, kelp wrack, and artificial structures like jetties. In summer, feeds along wet tundra edges, gravel bars, and shallow pools.
