The semipalmated sandpiper is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".
Region
North and South America
Typical Environment
Breeds in the low Arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada, favoring wet sedge meadows and tundra ponds. Migrates primarily along Atlantic coasts and interior flyways, using extensive tidal flats, estuaries, and sheltered bays. Winters along northern South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Central America, frequenting mudflats, mangroves, and sandy shorelines. Occasionally uses inland flooded fields and lake margins during migration.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A very small shorebird, its name “semipalmated” refers to the partial webbing between its toes that helps it move over soft mudflats. It breeds in the low Arctic and undertakes long-distance migrations to the coasts of South America and the Caribbean. During migration it gathers in vast flocks at key stopovers such as the Bay of Fundy, where it feeds intensively on intertidal invertebrates.
In worn post-breeding plumage in August, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York
Vocalizing
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
tight, agile flocks with rapid, shallow wingbeats; swift low flights over water
Social Behavior
Breeds in the Arctic in dispersed pairs with ground nests lined with plant material, typically laying four eggs. Both parents incubate and tend the young, which are precocial and feed themselves shortly after hatching. Outside the breeding season it forms large, cohesive flocks that roost and forage together on tidal cycles.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
On the breeding grounds males give a soft, twittering display song. Calls are high, thin cheeps and trills, often given in flight and during flock movements.
Plumage
Compact “peep” sandpiper with gray-brown upperparts and white underparts; fine streaking on the breast in breeding plumage and a scaly pattern on the back. Nonbreeding birds appear plainer gray above and clean white below.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small invertebrates, including fly larvae, beetles, amphipods, small crustaceans, worms, and mollusks. At key stopovers such as the Bay of Fundy it consumes abundant intertidal amphipods. Foraging is by rapid pecking and shallow probing on wet substrates.
Preferred Environment
Intertidal mudflats, sandflats, estuaries, and sheltered bays; also along pond margins and marsh edges on the breeding grounds. Will use flooded fields and lake shores during migration when coastal habitats are scarce.
