Juvenile. Photo: Paul Reeves Photography/Shutterstock
Calidris subruficollis
| Conservation status | Formerly abundant, now very uncommon. Many were killed by market hunters in late 1800s and early 1900s. Much of habitat for migrating and wintering birds has been destroyed or degraded. Many migrants now forage in plowed farm fields; possible effects of agricultural chemicals on these birds are unknown. |
|---|---|
| Family | Sandpipers |
| Habitat | Shortgrass prairies; in summer, tundra ridges. Migrants in North America mostly on dry open ground, such as prairies, pastures, airports, stubble fields, plowed fields. Sometimes on shores of lakes or ponds, or on coastal flats, but even there it tends to be on higher and drier sections. Breeds on tundra slopes and ridges with ponds or streams nearby. |
Searches for food by sight, standing still and then making short run forward to capture prey, picking up insects and other items from surface of ground.
4, rarely 2 or 3. Whitish to buff or olive, with brown marks concentrated at larger end. Incubation by female only, 23-25 days. Young: Downy young leave nest less than a day after hatching. Female tends young, but young feed themselves. Age at first flight about 16-20 days.
Downy young leave nest less than a day after hatching. Female tends young, but young feed themselves. Age at first flight about 16-20 days.
Mostly insects. Diet not well known, but probably mostly insects at all seasons. On breeding grounds, eats many flies (including crane flies and midges), also beetles and other insects. During migration, besides insects, also eats spiders and small crustaceans; sometimes eats seeds.
Males gather on display grounds, or "leks," to attract females. These leks are spread out, each male defending an area of up to several acres; rarely more than 10 males present. Male displays by raising one wing, showing off white underside. If females approach, male spreads both wings wide, points bill up, shakes body. One male may mate with several females, and male takes no part in caring for the eggs or young. Nest site is on ground, usually near water, often on a hummock of moss. Nest (built by female) is shallow depression, lined with leaves, sedges, lichens, moss.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
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