The spoon-billed sandpiper is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has decreased significantly. By 2000, the estimated breeding population of the species was 350–500.
Region
East Asian–Australasian Flyway
Typical Environment
Breeds on low coastal tundra with dwarf shrubs and sedge-grass meadows along lagoons and estuaries around the Chukchi and northern Kamchatka coasts. During migration it uses intertidal mudflats and estuaries, especially around the Yellow Sea. In winter it frequents wide tidal flats, coastal salt pans, tidal creeks, sandy spits, and mangrove-fringed shores in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and neighboring countries. The species is tightly tied to undisturbed, invertebrate-rich intertidal habitats throughout its annual cycle.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 50 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Famed for its unique spoon-shaped bill, this tiny shorebird breeds on the coastal tundra of far northeastern Russia and migrates along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway to winter in Southeast Asia. Rapid declines have been driven by loss of intertidal mudflats in the Yellow Sea and trapping on wintering grounds. Intensive conservation measures, including habitat protection and head-starting of chicks, are underway to prevent extinction.
A "spoonie" on the breeding grounds in Chukotka, Siberia, June 2015.
Head
Bill from the side and above
A spoon-billed sandpiper
Temperament
wary and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats low over mudflats; agile flier
Social Behavior
Often feeds in small groups and joins mixed flocks with other small sandpipers on passage and in winter. On the breeding grounds pairs form after aerial display flights and courtship songs, with nests as shallow scrapes on slightly raised tundra. Both parents typically incubate and tend the brood, though care patterns can vary with conditions.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
On the breeding grounds the male gives a soft, musical, rippling song during display flights. Calls include thin, high-pitched tzeet notes and buzzy trills, more frequent in flight and when alarmed.
Plumage
Breeding adults show rich rufous head and neck with dark mottling and a partial blackish breast band; upperparts are dark with pale fringes. Non-breeding birds are gray-brown above with clean white underparts and a pale supercilium. The distinctive flat, spatulate bill tip is diagnostic in all plumages.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small invertebrates including insect larvae, tiny crustaceans (such as amphipods), and polychaete worms. It uses its spoon-shaped bill to sweep side-to-side in shallow water and soft mud, detecting prey by touch and sight. Prey choice shifts with tide and season, focusing on the most abundant small benthic organisms.
Preferred Environment
Forages on intertidal mud and sand flats, shallow tidal pools, creek edges, and occasionally salt pans. It prefers broad, undisturbed flats with fine sediments and high densities of invertebrates, often near estuaries and river mouths.
